( 


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Divivsion 

Section 


"BFei 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
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https://archive.org/details/reportofcommitte00amer_14 


Vol.  XII 
No.  4 


\*  JUN20  1910 

Psychological  Monographs 

April,  1910 


Whole  No.  51 


THE 


Psychological  Review 


HOWARD  C.  WARREN 
Princeton  University 


EDITED  BY 


JAMES  R.  ANGELL 
University  of  Chicago 


JOHN  B.  WATSON 
Johns  Hopkins  University 


{Editor  of  the  Psychological  Monographs) 


V 

Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  American  Psycho¬ 
logical  Association  on  the  Teaching  of  Psychology. 

Presented  to  the  Association  December  29,  1909. 

Committee : 

Carl  E.  Seashore,  Chairman 
James  R.  Angell 
Mary  Whiton  Calkins 
Edmund  C.  Sanford 
Guy  Montrose  Whipple 

Published  by  the  Association. 


THE  REVIEW  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

41  NORTH  QUEEN  ST.,  LANCASTER,  PA. 

AND  BALTIMORE,  MD. 


PRESS  OF 

WILLIAMS  &  WILKINS  COMPANY 
BALTIMORE 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  THE  TEACH¬ 
ING  OF  PSYCHOLOGY. 


To  the  Members  of  the  American  Psychological  Association: 

Your  committee  appointed  a  year  ago  to  investigate  and 
report  upon  the  teaching  of  psychology  respectfully  submits 
its  report  herewith. 

The  committee  at  once  limited  its  investigation  to  the 
teaching  of  the  first  year  course  in  psychology;  and,  to  secure 
uniformity,  this  course  was  defined  as  a  sophomore  course  run¬ 
ning  three  hours  a  week  throughout  the  year,  or  five  hours  a 
week  for  one  semester,  whether  this  time  is  given  to  a  single 
course  or  to  two. 

The  committee  then  resolved  itself  into  three  subcommittees 
for  the  division  of  labor  as  follows: 

1.  The  Normal  Schools,  Guy  Montrose  Whipple. 

2.  The  Colleges  without  laboratories,  Mary  Whiton  Cal¬ 
kins. 

3.  The  Colleges  and  Universities  with  laboratories,  Edmund 
C.  Sanford,  James  R.  Angell. 

Each  of  these  subcommittees  has  circulated  a  questionary, 
worked  over  the  returns,  and  made  certain  recommendations 
on  the  basis  of  these  returns.  Each  of  these  four  reports  is 
herewith  presented  entire  and  independent.  The  arrangement 
represents  the  division  of  labor  in  the  committee.  No  effort 
has  been  made  to  reduce  these  individual  contributions  to 
any  formal  committee  report  having  the  stamp  of  authority 
either  from  the  committee  as  a  whole  or  from  the  Association. 
Our  aim  has  been  to  present  a  survey  of  existing  conditions, 
to  bring  together  some  of  the  most  helpful  hints  for  improve¬ 
ment,  and  to  stimulate  interest  and  effective  cooperation  for 
the  advancement  of  the  teaching  of  the  first-year  course  in 
psychology. 

The  committee  tenders  its  most  sincere  thanks  to  all  the 
psychologists  who  have  given  their  generous  cooperation  in 
answering  our  inquiries. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL 

SCHOOLS. 

By  Guy  Montrose  Whipple. 


Cornell  University. 


This  report  is  based  upon  lOO  replies  (84  from  public,  16 
from  private  normal  schools),  which  were  received  in  response 
to  a  printed  questionary,  mailed  to  the  259  institutions  (189 
public,  70  private)  listed  as  normal  schools  in  the  Report  of 
the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  for  1907. 

The  following  states  are  not  represented  in  my  replies: — 
Arkansas,  Georgia,  Indiana,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Missouri, 
New  Hampshire,  Oregon,  Rhode  Island,  Tennessee,  and  Texas. 
In  the  consideration  of  the  items  which  follow,  therefore,  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  ii  state  systems  are  unrepre¬ 
sented,  and  that  somewhat  less  than  half  of  the  existing  institu¬ 
tions  have  contributed  data.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  safe,  I 
believe,  to  regard  this  report  as  a  fair  representation  of  the  pre¬ 
sent  status  of  psychology  in  our  normal  schools. 

The  printed  questionary  (with  the  omission  of  spaces  left 
for  replies)  is  as  follows: 

QUESTIONS  ON  THE  TEACHING  OF  PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NOR¬ 
MAL  SCHOOLS. 

Please  read  all  the  questions  before  beginning  to  answer.  When  the  space 
allowed  is  insufficient  for  your  reply,  please  attach  extra  sheets,  but  number 
the  replies  thereon  to  correspond  with  the  numbering  of  the  questions.  If 
you  can  do  so,  mail  me  a  catalog  of  your  institution,  and  mark  the  courses 
in  psychology. 

Name  and  location  of  institution. 

Own  name  and  title. 

Address  to  which  you  wish  printed  report  sent. 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


3 


A.  GENERAL  AIM  OF  WORK  IN  PSYCHOLOGY :  ITS  PLACE  IN  THE  CURRICULUM. 

1.  State  concisely  the  general  aim  of  the  work  in  psychology,  i.  e., 
tell  what  it  is  designed  to  do  for  the  students. 

2.  Do  you  give  separate  courses  in  general  (or  elementary)  psychology 
and  in  educational  psychology,  or  are  these  combined  in  one  course? 

3.  Do  you  offer  any  courses  in  experimental  or  laboratory  psychology 
in  addition  to  those  in  general  or  educational  psychology? 

4.  (a)  Have  you  a  psychological  or  psycho-educational  laboratory? 

(b)  If  not,  have  you  any  collection  of  psychological  apparatus? 

(c)  What  is  the  approximate  value  of  this  equipment? 

(d)  When  was  the  laboratory  established? 

(e)  Is  it  supported  by  a  yearly  appropriation?  (f)  How  much? 

(g)  Has  it  separate  rooms  or  is  it  united  with  other  laboratories? 

(JV.  B.  In  what  follows,  consider  all  courses  in  psychology.) 

5.  What  is  the  length  of  the  course  or  courses,  i.  e.,  number  of  exercises 
per  week,  length  of  each  exercise,  number  of  weeks  given? 

6.  Is  the  course  elective  (freely),  or  is  it  required?  If  the  latter,  of 
what  group  of  students  (what  year,  course,  etc.)? 

7.  Is  the  course  a  prerequisite  for  other  courses,  e.  g.,  psychology,  prin¬ 
ciples  of  education,  methods,  practise-teaching,  etc.?  (Please  submit  a 
brief  outline  showing  these  interrelations.) 

8.  What  is  the  average  number  of  students  registered  in  the  several 
courses  in  psychology  each  year? 

B.  METHOD  OF  CONDUCTING  THE  WORK. 

9.  Do  you  use  a  regular  text-book  or  books?  If  so,  what? 

10.  Does  the  work  in  psychology  center  chiefly  about  the  text-book 
(recitations,  discussions,  etc.)? 

11.  If  you  use  any  of  the  following  devices,  indicate  approximately 
the  relative  amount  of  time  devoted  to  their  use: 

(a)  Lectures  by  the  teacher. 

(b)  Demonstrations  by  the  teacher. 

(c)  Experiments  by  students  (give  examples). 

(d)  Class  discussion  of  text  or  lectures. 

(e)  Dictation  by  the  teacher,  to  be  taken  down  verbatim  by  students. 

(/)  Written  exercises  of  various  sorts. 

(g)  Exercises  demanding  introspection  by  students. 

(k)  Exercises  demanding  observation  of  others. 

(i)  Outside  reading  by  students  in  books  other  than  the  text-book. 

(Required  of  all  students  or  assigned  individually  for  report? 
If  confined  to  a  few  books,  please  name  these.) 

(j)  Personal  appointments  with  individual  students  to  discuss  dif¬ 

ficulties,  etc. 

(/fe)  Printed  or  mimeographed  lists  of  questions  or  outlines  for  use  by 
students  to  check  up  their  knowledge  of  the  course.  (If  feas¬ 
ible,  send  a  copy,  or  state  where  it  may  be  bought.) 

(/)  Any  other  devices. 


4 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


12.  Of  the  devices  just  mentioned,  which  is  most  valuable  in  aiding  the 
students  to  assimilate  the  work? 

13.  If  you  give  any  demonstrations  in  class,  submit  a  list  of  these. 

14.  Mention  any  pieces  of  apparatus  that  you  consider  especially  use¬ 
ful  for  illustration  or  demonstration-work. 

15.  Is  the  class  period  ever  used  merely  as  a  study-period,  or  is  all 
study  done  outside  of  the  classroom? 

16.  If  you  give  lectures,  do  these  merely  illustrate  and  explain  the  text¬ 
book,  or  do  they  develop  topics  not  mentioned  in  the  text? 

17.  Upon  what  is  the  final  grade  of  the  student  determined, — recita¬ 
tions,  exercises,  examination  on  the  text-book,  or  what?  (Please  en¬ 
close  a  sample  set  of  examination  questions.) 

18.  Does  the  class  always  meet  as  a  whole,  or  at  times  in  sections?  Is 
it  ever  quizzed  by  assistants  or  by  anyone  other  than  the  regular  teacher? 

19.  Do  you  have  lectures  on  psychological  topics  given  at  your  insti¬ 
tution  by  persons  not  connected  with  your  faculty?  Is  there  any  regular 
system  of  such  lectures? 

C.  CONTENTS  OF  COURSES. 

{Note.  If  you  follow  exactly  the  topics  and  contents  of  a  text-book,  it  may 
not  he  necessary  to  ansiver  questions  in  this  Section  in  detail.) 

20.  Submit  an  outline  of  the  topics  given  or  discussed,  lecture  by 
lecture,  e.  g.,  (i)  nature  of  psychology,  (2)  nervous  system,  etc. 

21.  Please  indicate  as  nearly  as  possible  the  absolute  (or  relative)  time 
that  is  devoted  to  the  following  topics: 

(a)  Development  of  notions  of  scientific  method  (meaning  of  experi¬ 

ment,  introspection,  etc.). 

(b)  Quasi-philosophical  problems,  such  as  the  relation  of  mind  and 

body,  nature  of  mind,  biological  significance  of  consciousness, 

etc. 

(c)  Anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  central  nervous  system. 

(d)  Psychology  of  sensation  (including  structure  of  the  sense- 

organs). 

(e)  Attention  (including  interest). 

(f)  Affective  processes,  feeling,  and  emotion. 

(g)  Reflexes  and  instincts. 

(h)  Psychology  of  learning,  habit,  educative  processes. 

(i)  Complex  forms  of  action,  e.  g.,  impulsive,  selective,  volitional, 

etc. 

if)  Association. 

{k)  Perception  (including  observation). 

(0  Memory. 

{m)  Imagination. 

(«)  Conception,  judging,  and  reasoning. 

(0)  Problems  of  mental  development,  such  as  inheritance,  contents 
of  children’s  minds,  adolescence,  and  other  child-study  topics. 

ip)  Individual  differences  of  all  kinds. 

{q)  Animal  psychology. 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


5 


(r)  Borderline  phenomena,  such  as  hypnotism,  sleep,  dreams,  psy¬ 
chotherapy,  etc. 

(5)  Any  other  topics,  such  as  hygiene  of  the  sense-organs,  fatigue, 
psychology  of  primitive  peoples,  etc. 

D.  THE  TEACHER. 

2  2.  Do  you  give  instruction  in  other  courses  than  psychology?  If  so, 
in  what? 

23.  Is  there  more  than  one  teacher  directly  or  indirectly  engaged  in 
giving  instruction  in  psychology? 

24.  Do  you  attempt  to  do  any  original  work  in  psychology?  If  so, 
are  you  aided  by  students? 

25.  Enumerate  any  studies  (magazine  articles,  books,  etc.)  on  psycho¬ 
logical  topics  published  by  you  or  by  your  pupils  in  the  institution. 

26.  Where  did  you  receive  your  training  in  psychology? 

27.  What  degrees  do  you  hold,  or  what  diplomas  or  certificates  have  you 
received? 

28.  How  long  have  you  taught  psychology? 

E.  RESULTS,  DIFFICULTIES,  POSSIBLE  IMPROVEMENTS. 

29.  Do  the  students  display  distinct  interest  in  psychology?  In  what 
way? 

30.  Enumerate  the  ways  in  which  you  think  the  work  in  psychology 
helps  the  students  in  their  work  as  teachers. 

31.  In  presenting  the  subject,  do  you  encounter  any  difficulties  that  the 
text-book  does  not  resolve?  What  are  they? 

32.  If  you  had  a  free  hand,  would  you  make  any  changes  in  your  present 
methods  of  teaching  psychology,  and  if  so,  what  changes? 

33.  In  what  ways  could  this  Committee  be  of  assistance  to  you  in  your 
work? 

F.  REMARKS. 

Kindly  add  any  remarks  that  would  assist  us  in  understanding  the 
status  of  the  teaching  of  psychology  in  your  institution. 

Before  listing  the  replies  to  the  questionary  in  detail,  a 
bird’s-eye  view  of  the  teaching  of  psychology  in  the  normal 
school  may  be  of  value.  Such  a  view  may  be  secured  by  de¬ 
scribing,  on  the  basis  of  the  data  submitted,  the  condition  of 
psychology  in  the  typical  (or  average)  institution. 

In  this  typical  institution,  then,  the  teacher  has  received  his 
training  from  an  American  college,  and  holds  a  bachelor’s, 
and  possibly  also  an  advanced  degree.  He  has  taught  psy¬ 
chology  for  8.5  years,  has  sole  charge  of  the  courses  therein. 


6 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


and,  in  addition,  gives  instruction  in  certain  courses  in  educa¬ 
tion. 

His  class  of  107  pupils  demands  much  time  and  energy,  and 
other  circumstances,  such  as  scanty  library  and  laboratory 
facilities  and  the  immaturity  of  his  pupils,  conspire  to  render 
it  difficult  or  impossible  for  him  to  prosecute  original  work,  or 
to  keep  pace  with  the  contributions  of  others. 

In  teaching  psychology,  he  encounters  difficulties,  due  in 
part  possibly  to  his  own  lack  of  preparation,  in  part  to  the  im¬ 
maturity  of  his  pupils,  in  part  to  the  inherent  complexity  of 
the  subject-matter,  but  more  especially  (at  least  in  his  opinion) 
to  the  inadequacy  of  the  available  text-books. 

He  is,  of  course,  anxious  to  improve  his  instruction :  he  would 
would  like  to  know  what  the  instructors  in  other  schools  are 
doing  in  psychology,  and  would  be  glad  to  receive  helpful 
suggestions  concerning  the  arrangements  and  conduct  of  his 
course.  If  he  could,  he  would  extend  the  time  given  to  psy¬ 
chology,  and  would  work  out  more  satisfactory  correlations 
between  the  work  in  psychology  and  that  in  biology  and  in 
education. 

The  course  he  gives  in  psychology  is  a  combination  of  gen¬ 
eral  and  educational  psychology:  it  is  required  of  all  students 
as  a  prerequisite  for  subsequent  or  concurrent  work  in  edu¬ 
cation, — especially  in  the  study  of  methods  and  in  practise- 
teaching.  The  class  meets  in  one  section  for  45-minute  pe¬ 
riods.  In  all,  90  (actual)  hours  are  devoted  to  the  subject. 

The  typical  teacher  aims  to  give  his  pupils  general  familiar¬ 
ity  with  the  laws  and  operations  of  mental  life,  with  the  par¬ 
ticular  idea  of  rendering  this  knowledge  practical  and  useful  in 
the  life  work  of  the  teacher,  and  he  firmly  believes  that  this 
result  is  attained, — that  those  who  have  had  psychology  have 
gained  a  sympathetic  knowledge  of  the  child’s  mental  life,  that 
they  appreciate  the  rationale  of  methods,  and  teach  more  skill¬ 
fully.  Whether  the  students  are  at  the  time  convinced  of  the 
serviceability  of  their  study  of  psychology  is,  perhaps,  an  open 
question.  Probably  about  half  the  class  exhibit  interest:  the 
other  half  take  the  course  because  they  must,  and  in  so  far,  the 
teacher  is  always  conscious  of  the  necessity  of  striving  to  make 
psychology  at  once  attractive  and  practical. 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


7 


The  content  of  the  course  is  determined  almost  entirely  by 
the  text-book  (probably  some  one  of  the  volumes  of  Angell, 
Halleck,  James,  Thorndike  or  Titchener).  This  text  may  or 
may  not  distribute  the  emphasis  upon  those  topics  that  are 
most  significant  for  education.  The  chances  are  that  too 
much  time  is  paid  to  the  nervous  system  and  not  enough  to 
habit,  the  inheritance  and  acquisition  of  capacities,  and  other 
features  of  the  educative  process.  The  chances  are,  however, 
that  the  distribution  of  time  in  any  single  institution  does 
not  coincide  with  that  in  any  other  institution. 

In  presenting  psychology,  the  teacher  relies  mainly  on  the 
text-book:  he  lectures  only  occasionally,  and  in  an  informal 
manner,  either  upon  topics  discussed  or  topics  not  discussed 
by  the  text. 

All  studying  is  done  outside  the  classroom. 

The  very  few  demonstrations  that  are  given  are  confined 
to  the  nervous  system,  central  or  peripheral. 

The  student  performs  few  or  no  experiments  for  himself, 
and  is  not  properly  trained  in  introspection;  he  may  submit 
occasional  reports  of  observation  upon  the  children  or  the 
teaching  in  the  practise  school. 

Discussion  in  the  class  is  a  feature  of  the  course  and  there  is 
a  reasonable  amount  of  assigned  outside  reading,  both  of 
which  devices  are  regarded  as  valuable  adjuncts  of  the  course. 
These  exercises  are  supplemented  by  fairly  frequent  written 
exercises, — themes,  tests,  etc. 

The  chances  are  about  even  that  the  teacher  has  occasional 
personal  appointments,  especially  with  those  students  whose 
work  is  below  par.  The  chances  are  that  he  does  not  use 
formal  dictation,  or  printed  outlines,  or  quiz-lists. 

Finally,  in  our  ‘typical’  normal  school  there  is  no  psycho¬ 
logical  or  educational  laboratory,  and  probably  not  even  a 
collection  of  apparatus.  If  such  a  collection  exists,  it  is 
probably  confined  to  a  few  models,  charts,  or  lantern  slides 
of  the  nervous  system,  or  to  a  few  ‘show-pieces’  like  the 
ergograph,  the  color-mixer,  or  a  simple  reaction- time  appara¬ 
tus. 

With  this  glance  at  the  condition  of  psychology  in  an  aver- 


8 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


age  normal  school,  we  may  now  consider  the  statistical  results 
of  the  inquiry  as  exhibited  by  the  returns  from  the  lOO  insti¬ 
tutions. 

For  convenience  of  discussion,  the  order  of  presentation 
will  depart  from  that  embodied  in  the  questionary.  Atten¬ 
tion  is  asked  (A)  to  the  teachers  (their  training,  opportunities, 
difficulties  and  desires),  (B)  to  the  place  of  psychology  in 
the  curriculum,  (C)  to  the  aim  and  success  attained  in  teach¬ 
ing  psychology,  (D)  to  the  content  of  the  course,  (E)  to  the 
method  of  conducting  it,  (F)  to  the  use  of  experimental  or 
laboratory  work,  (G)  to  a  number  of  conclusions  and  sugges¬ 
tions. 

A.  THE  TEACHERS 
I.  Their  academic  status 

Question  27.  Degrees.  Of  the  lOO  teachers  8i  reported 
collegiate  degrees.  These  include  64  Bachelor’s,  47  Master’s, 
and  32  Doctor’s  degrees,  besides  2  Medical  and  3  Honorary 
degrees.  Five  hold  only  normal-school  diplomas,  or  state 
or  other  certificates. 

Question  26.  Institutions  at  which  training  in  psychology 
was  received.  Aside  from  20  normal  schools,  training  in 
psychology  is  reported  as  follows;  at  Chicago,  19;  Columbia, 
14;  Clark,  13;  Harvard,  ii;  Michigan,  8;  Indiana,  5;  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  4;  3  each  at  California,  Jena,  Leipzig,  New  York 
University,  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  and  Yale;  2  each  at  Berlin, 
Cornell,  Gdttingen,  Illinois,  Minnesota,  Stanford,  Zurich; 
I  each  at  Adelbert,  Albion,  Amherst,  Bryn  Mawr,  Columbian, 
Cumberland,  Edinburg,  Erskine,  Halle,  Hamline,  Hillsdale, 
Hobart,  Howard,  Illinois  College,  Kansas,  Lafayette,  Lebanon, 
Nebraska,  Northern  University,  Oberlin,  Pennsylvania  State 
College,  Smith,  Toronto,  Tennessee,  Tufts,  University  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  University  of  Nashville,  University  of 
North  Carolina,  Wellesley,  and  Yankton  College.  In  many 
cases  the  teacher  had  attended  two  or  more  institutions  of  col¬ 
legiate  rank. 

Question  28.  Length  of  time  the  teacher  has  taught  psy¬ 
chology.  The  replies  to  the  question:  “How  long  have  you 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


9 


taught  psychology?”  are  summarized  in  Table  i,  whence  it 
is  evident  that  teaching-experience  ranges  from  one  term  to 
26  years.  If  we  disregard  the  tendency  to  give  the  nearest 
5-year  multiple, — a  tendency  which  has  obviously  distorted 
the  frequencies  at  5,  10,  20,  and  possibly  at  15  years, — we 
may  determine  the  average  teaching-experience  at  8.5  years. 

Table  i. 

Teaching-Experience,  in  Years,  of  Normal  School  Teachers  of  Psychology. 
Years.  .  .1  i  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  ii  12  15  17  18  20  25  26 

Number.  .3  5657  10  3671  T4  6  7  2  2  4  5  i  i 


Question  23.  Number  teaching  psychology  in  each  school. 
But  43  replies  were  made  to  this  query.  Since,  presumably, 
lack  of  reply  indicates  that  but  one  teacher  is  engaged  in 
psychology,  we  may,  by  adding  9  replies  of  ‘one  only,’  con¬ 
clude  that  in  65  of  the  100  schools,  the  work  in  psychology  is 
given  by  a  single  teacher.  In  18  schools  there  are  2  teachers 
of  psychology,  in  7  schools  3  teachers,  in  i  school  4  teachers 
in  6  there  is  more  than  one  teacher,  but  the  number  is  not 
stated. 

Question  22.  Number  giving  other  instruction  than  in  psy¬ 
chology.  In  the  typical  normal  school,  not  only  is  there  but 
one  teacher  of  psychology,  but  this  teacher  is  also  in  charge 
of  instruction  in  other,  often  quite  unrelated  subjects.  To 
be  specific,  78  of  the  100  teachers  give  instruction  in  courses 
other  than  psychology.  This  additional  instruction  is  com¬ 
monly  concerned  with  some  phase  of  pedagogy  or  with  logic 
and  ethics,  as  the  following  figures  indicate: 


2 1  History  of  education. 

20  Pedagogy  or  ‘education.’ 

14  Methods. 

1 2  School  administration  or  school 
management. 

II  Ethics. 

10  Logic. 

8  Principles  of  education. 

6  Literature. 

6  History. 

4  English. 

4  School  law. 


2  Child-study. 

2  Biology. 

2  Physics. 

2  Latin. 

2  Economics. 

2  Philosophy  of  education. 
2  Algebra. 

I  Arithmetic. 

I  Astronomy. 

I  Botany. 

I  Chemistry. 

I  Critic  teaching. 


lO 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


4  Civics. 

3  Philosophy. 
3  Physiology. 
3  Geography. 


I  Kindergarten  methods. 
I  Manual  training. 

I  School  hygiene. 

I  Secondary  education. 

I  Zoology. 


Question  24.  Original  work  attempted.  Of  the  lOO  teachers 
who  reported,  22  attempt  to  do  some  form  of  research  work, 
in  which  7  of  them  are  aided  by  seniors  or  selected  pupils. 
But  most  of  these  22  state  that  in  the  normal-school  environ¬ 
ment  it  is  hard  to  get  the  time,  energy,  or  incentive  to  do  such 
work.^ 

Question  25.  Publications  by  teacher  or  pupils.  Twenty- 
seven  normal-school  teachers  have  published  articles  or  books 
upon  psychological  topics.  In  several  instances,  however,  the 
titles  mentioned  are  those  of  doctorate  theses  or  other  studies 
prepared  by  the  teacher  in  the  university  or  at  least  outside  of 
the  normal  school.  It  appears  again,  therefore,  that  only  in  a 
few  exceptional  institutions  are  the  conditions  (whether  of 
teaching  staff  or  institutional  routine)  such  as  to  favor  cre¬ 
ative  work. 

2.  Their  difficulties  and  desires. 


Question  31.  Difficulties  encountered  in  teaching  psychol¬ 
ogy.  Difficulties  are  attributed  {a)  to  the  pupil,  {b)  to  the 
teacher  himself,  (c)  to  the  inherent  complexity  of  certain  top¬ 
ics,  and  {d)  to  the  text-book. 


^The  writer  is  impressed  with  the  fact  that  the  opportunity  apparently  open  to  the 
normal-school  teacher  of  psychology  to  conduct  experiments  on  a  large  scale  in  regard 
to  the  application  in  classroom  teaching  of  psychological  principles,  i.  e.,  the  opportunity 
to  indulge  in  experimental  pedagogy-is  not,  for  one  reason  or  another,  adequately  utili¬ 
zed.  The  model,  practice,  and  observation  classes  attached  to  the  normal  schools  would 
seem  to  offer  a  rich  field  for  experimental  work  of  this  kind.  The  most  obvious  difficulty 
is,  presumably,  the  lack  of  properly  trained  students,  and  the  short  time  available  in 
the  average  normal-school  course,  which  puts  pressure  on  the  teacher  to  concentrate 
his  attention  upon  the  work  of  teaching  his  pupils  the  elementary  facts  of  psychology. 
But  there  are  a  limited  number  of  normal  schools  that  aspire  to  the  dignity  of  “  Normal 
Colleges ’’and  that  even  grant  an  A.B.  degree.  Here,  with  high-school  preparation  of  all 
students  and  a  four-year  professional  course,  there  should  be  a  place  for  valuable  experi¬ 
mental  work. 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


1 1 


(a)  The  pupil  is  said  to  be  too  immature  (2)^  or  disin¬ 
clined  to  think,  to  be  willing  to  master  the  text,  but  not  the 
subject. 

{h)  Only  two  teachers  attribute  their  difficulties  in  some 
measure  to  themselves.  One  teacher  does  not  feel  sure  what 
ought  or  what  could  be  taught  in  psychology  in  the  normal 
school:  another  regrets  his  inability  to  keep  up  with  the  litera¬ 
ture  of  the  subject. 

(c)  Special  difficulty  is  reported  with  heredity,  the  theory 
of  evolution,  the  psychology  of  hearing,  the  affective  pro¬ 
cesses,  the  “physiological  side,”  the  nervous  system,  the 
history  of  psychology,  volition,  the  hygiene  of  study,  the 
functional  point  of  view,  the  tendency  to  confuse  the  mental 
and  the  physical.  Five  teachers  say  that  the  principal 
difficulty  is  that  of  so  adapting  psychology  that  it  shall  bear 
on  the  daily  life  of  the  pupils  and  particularly  upon  the  work 
of  teaching.  Two  believe  that  the  absence  of  a  laboratory 
equipment  makes  their  work  more  difficult. 

{d)  But  the  text-book  is  evidently  the  bete-noire  of  the 
normal-school  teacher,  although  at  the  same  time,  as  will  be 
seen  later,  it  is  a  main  reliance  in  his  teaching.  The  text¬ 
book  is  said  to  have  too  few  historical  sketches,  to  be  too 
vague,  too  abstract  (5),  too  difficult  (6),  too  technical  in 
terminology  (5).  It  fails  to  show  the  bearing  of  psychology 
upon  conduct,  and  fails  to  make  proper  use  of  the  student  as 
his  own  laboratory  (3).  “The  scientific  texts  are  too  hard: 
the  easy  texts  are  not  scientific.”  Those  at  present  on  the 
market  are  declared  to  be  “the  pedagogical  blunders  of  great 
scientists  who  know  enough  psychology  to  write  a  book,  but 
not  enough  to  understand  the  mind  of  the  high-school  graduate. 
Again,  it  is  remarked  that  “the  text-book  doesn’t  resolve  any 
difficulties:  it  makes  them.” 

Question  33.  How  assistance couldhe rendered.  The  normal- 
school  teachers  think  that  they  could  be  best  helped  in  their 
work  {a)  by  the  preparation  and  circulation  of  reports  such 

^Numbers  in  parentheses  following  classificatory  data  in  this  and  other  paragraphs 
refer  to  the  number  of  reports  in  which  the  data  appear,  but  where  an  item  is  mentioned 
but  once  the  number  has  been  frequently  omitted. 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


1 2 


as  the  present  one,  because  they  “want  to  know  what  others 
are  doing”  (incidentally,  a  few  desire  that  this  report  be  sent 
to  their  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction  or  to  those 
that  prepare  the  state  examinations  in  psychology),  (b)  by 
extending  suggestions  as  to  the  arrangement  and  conduct  of 
courses  in  psychology,  (d)  by  giving  attention  to  the  text¬ 
book  evil,  and  (e)  in  miscellaneous  ways. 

{b)  The  desire  for  help  in  the  conduct  of  courses  may  be 
evidenced  by  the  following  quotations:  “Outline  for  us  a 
laboratory  course,  giving  a  list  of  apparatus,  maker,  cost, 
etc.”  “Outline  a  course  in  educational  psychology,  with 
experiments  and  apparatus”  (2).  “Outline  a  two-year 
course  in  normal-school  psychology,  recommending  texts,  and 
supplying  a  bibliography.”  “Outline  a  20-weeks  course  in 
psychology.”  “Show  us  how  to  teach  psychology  to  16- 
year  old  pupils.”  “Set  standards  for  this  kind  of  work. 
Show  us  the  essentials”  (3).  “Suggest  books  on  the  psy¬ 
chology  of  method,”  etc. 

(d)  Five  teachers  beg  the  Committee  to  write  “a  decent 
text-book.  ”  The  characteristics  of  such  a  text  are  also  speci¬ 
fied  by  several  correspondents:  it  should  be  “a  living,  working 
psychology,”  “one  that  is  free  from  scientific  slang, ”(.!)  “one 
that  treats  of  psychology  as  personal  experience,”  and  “a 
sensible  one  for  beginners.” 

(e)  Other  suggestions  of  ways  of  assistance  are:  “ Develop 
cooperation  between  university  and  normal-school  teachers.” 
“Find  out  from  teachers  who  have  graduated  from  normal 
schools  what  work  in  psychology  was  actually  helpful  to 
them.”  Some  teachers  ask  for  specific  information,  e.g., 
“Give  me  some  scientific  information  about  the  relation  of 
blood  to  brain  activity.”  “Tell  me  if  there  are  any  psycho¬ 
logical  differences  between  the  whites  and  the  colored  race.” 

Question  32.  Changes  desired.  The  changes  that  would 
be  made  by  the  teachers  of  psychology,  if  they  had  a  free 
hand,  relate  in  the  main  either  {a)  to  the  place  of  psychology 
in  the  curriculum  and  its  relation  to  other  branches,  or  {b) 
to  the  content  or  method  of  the  course. 

{a)  The  crying  need  is  that  of  more  time  (ii).  It  is  also 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


13 


desired  to  defer  psychology  until  the  last  year  (3),  or  to  divide 
the  work  into  two  courses,  an  elementary  and  an 
advanced  (2).  The  wish  is  expressed,  also,  for  better  articu¬ 
lation  with  biology  (3),  physiology  (3),  pedagogy,  school 
hygiene,  methods,  and  practise  teaching. 

{h)  So  far  as  alteration  of  content  or  method  of  presenta¬ 
tion  is  concerned,  it  is  significant  that  19  wish  to  introduce 
laboratory  or  experimental  work.  Seven  wish  to  give  more 
exercises  in  the  observation  of  children,  4  to  “emphasize  the 
genetic  side,”  e.g.,  by  adding  a  course  in  child-study,  4  to 
give  more  demonstrations  in  class,  3  to  work  more  by  the 
inductive  method.  Other  desired  changes  are  to  emphasize 
social  psychology,  philosophy,  religion,  and  mental  hygiene, 
to  provide  more  reference  books,  to  institute  more  group  work, 
more  conferences  with  students,  to  give  intensive  work  on  a 
few  important  topics,  to  increase  the  teaching  staff,  and  to 
provide  a  vacant  period  after  each  recitation  for  use  in  dis¬ 
cussion,  conferences,  experiments,  etc. 

B.  THE  PLACE  OF  PSYCHOLOGY  IN  THE  CURRICULUM. 

Question  8.  Number  of  students.  Restricting  considera¬ 
tion  where  more  than  one  course  is  offered  to  the  introductory 
or  first  general  course  in  psychology,  we  find  that  90  institu¬ 
tions  report  9,669  students  in  psychology,  an  average  per 
class  of  107.3  (m.v.  68.6).  The  largest  number  is  500,  at 
Ypsilanti,  Michigan;  the  smallest  5,  at  the  J.  K.  Birch  [Private] 
School,  Enfield,  N.  C. 

Question  18.  Meeting  in  sections  or  as  a  whole?  In  71 
schools  the  psychology  class  meets  as  a  whole;  in  14  it  meets 
in  2,  3,  6,  8  or  9  sections.  In  6  institutions  the  class  meets 
occasionally  in  sections,  e.g.,  for  laboratory,  or  some  form  of 
advanced  work. 

Question  2.  Elementary  and  educational  psychology  com¬ 
bined  or  separate?  The  97  replies  show  that  these  courses  are 
combined  in  67,  separated  in  30  institutions. 

Question  6.  Elective  or  required  course?  Only  6  schools 
report  elective  courses.  These  courses  may  be  taken  after 


14 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIP  RLE 


the  introductory  course  in  general  psychology  (including 
usually  educational  psychology),  and  are  devoted  to  such 
phases  as  physiological,  genetic,  or  abnormal  psychology,  or 
‘mental  hygiene.’ 

Question  6  {continued).  Required  of  what  group  of  students? 
It  is  impossible  from  the  data  at  hand  to  draw  reliable  con¬ 
clusions  upon  this  point,  both  because  practise  evidently 
differs  widely  in  different  institutions,  and  because  the  normal- 
school  course  varies  from  i  to  4  years  in  length,  and  the 
descriptive  terms  “  2d  year,  ”  “Junior,”  “Sophomores,”  etc., 
have  no  meaning  unless  a  catalogue  of  every  school  is  at  hand 
to  discover  their  significance.  From  appended  remarks, 
however,  it  is  clear  that  two  factors  are  at  work,  (i)  a  desire 
to  postpone  psychology  as  late  as  possible  in  order  that 
students  may  be  more  mature  and  experienced,  and  (2)  a 
desire  to  introduce  it  earlier  so  that  it  may  serve  as  a  basis  for 
the  study  of  method,  and  for  observation-work  and  practise- 
teaching.  Even  when  psychology  is  deferred  to  the  final  year 
of  the  normal-school  course,  it  precedes  or  accompanies  the 
courses  and  work  just  mentioned.  In  a  few  schools  a  very 
elementary  course  is  given  in  the  first  and  a  more  systematic 
course  in  the  last  year, — a  procedure  which  evidently  aims  at 
the  accomplishment  of  both  of  the  desires  cited. 

Question  7.  Psychology  a  prerequisite  for  what  courses? 
As  has  been  noted,  psychology  in  the  normal  schools  is  a 
required  subject  and  must  commonly  precede  certain  other 
courses.  In  the68  replies  received  to  Question  7,  these  sequent 
courses  are  specified  as  follows:  practise- teaching  (48),  general 
or  special  method  (29),  pedagogy  in  general  (17),  history  of 
education  (13),  principles  of  education  (12),  observation 
work  (9),  supervision  or  school  management  (9),  philosophy 
of  education  (6),  advanced  psychology  (3),  child-study  (2), 
moral  philosophy  (i). 

Question  5.  Length  of  the  course.  The  length  of  each  daily 
exercise  in  psychology  was  reported  by  83  institutions.  From 
the  accompanying  distribution  (Table  2)  it  is  clear  that  40- 
45  minutes  is  the  typical  class  period  in  the  normal  school. 
The  few  cases  of  90-minute  exercises  presumably  refer  to 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


IS 


laboratory  or  demonstration  periods  or  to  exercises  given 
over  partly  to  observations,  discussions,  etc. 

Table  2. 

Number  of  Minutes  Devoted  to  Class  Periods  in  Psychology. 


Minutes . 30  35  40  45  50  55  60  90 

Number  Institutions .  2  i  22  42  7  i  5  3 


In  81  reports,  the  data  were  sufficient  to  enable  the  compu¬ 
tation  (with  a  possible  error  of  some  5  per  cent)  of  the  total 
time  (in  60-minute  hours)  given  to  psychology.  The  results 
are:  average  time,  90  hours  (m.v.  34);  maximum,  270  hours 
(3  years,  120  weeks,  at  the  State  Normal  School,  Albany, 
N.  Y.);  minimum,  22.5  hours,  (10  weeks,  three  45-minute 
periods  each,  at  the  State  Normal  School,  Danbury,  Conn.). 
These  extremes  and  the  large  mean  variation  of  the  average 
indicate  that  there  exists  little  agreement  in  normal  schools 
with  regard  to  the  time  to  be  devoted  to  psychology. 

C.  THE  AIM  IN  TEACHING  PSYCHOLOGY  AND  ITS  REALIZATION. 

Question  1.  General  aim  of  the  course.  The  usual  answers 
are:  the  aim  of  psychology  is  to  give  a  general  familiarity 
with  the  operations  and  the  laws  of  mental  activity  (28)  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  afford  a  satisfactory  basis  for  the  art  of 
teaching  (75).  Less  frequently  is  the  aim  considered  to  be  the 
supplying  of  general  culture  (19).  The  introductory  course 
is  often  conducted  primarily  as  the  basis  for  further  study 
of  advanced  psychology  (22).  In  a  few  instances  (3),  the 
aim  is  frankly  stated  to  be  the  satisfaction  of  legal  require¬ 
ments. 

Question  29.  Interest  displayed  by  students.  Of  54  replies, 
distinct  interest  is  reported  in  50,  interest  on  the  part  of  a  few 
students  in  4  cases.  It  may  be  fair  to  assume  that  in  the  46 
institutions  that  fail  to  reply,  little  interest  is  shown  in  psy¬ 
chology.  When  it  is  displayed,  interest  is  said  to  be  mani¬ 
fested  by  questions,  by  participation  in  discussions  and 
debates  (21),  by  the  voluntary  assumption  of  study  and  read¬ 
ing  beyond  the  class  assignments  (14),  by  the  application  of 


i6 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


psychological  principles  in  practise- teaching  (9), by  general 
good  work  and  zeal  in  the  classroom  (5),  by  the  election  of 
non-required  advanced  courses  (3),  by  continuing  to  study 
psychology  after  graduation  (2),  by  acknowledging  help  from 
psychology  in  other  studies  (2) ,  by  acknowledging  a  changed 
attitude  toward  books,  people,  and  life  in  general  (2). 

Question  30.  How  psychology  helps  students  in  their  work 
as  teachers.  As  already  noted,  a  primary  aim  in  normal- 
school  psychology  is  to  afford  a  basis  for  the  art  of  teaching. 
It  is  evident  that  as  a  rule,  the  teachers  of  psychology,  believe 
that  this  aim  is  attained,  though  not  to  the  degree  that  might 
be  wished.  We  have,  unfortunately,  no  information  from 
the  graduates  of  the  schools  themselves  as  to  the  value  they 
have  gained  from  psychology:  according,  however,  to  the 
school  authorities,  psychology  gives  teachers  greater  sym¬ 
pathy,  tolerance, and  patience  (10), enables  them  to  teach  more 
intelligently,  scientifically  and  skillfully  (8), especially  because 
they  know  how  to  organize  or  plan  their  work,  (8)  and  see  the 
reasons  for  the  devices  and  rules  of  method  (6),  which  now 
become  guides  instead  of  rules,  so  that  teaching  becomes  a 
profession  instead  of  a  trade  (2).  Psychology  develops 
thoughtfulness  (2),  an  investigating  spirit  (2),  and  common- 
sense  (i):  it  prevents  sentimentalism,  makes  students  more 
critical  (i),  in  that  they  search  for  causes  and  know  what 
proof  is  (i);  it  makes  them  also  more  observant  (2),  more 
confident  (i),  more  tactful  (i),  more  progressive  (i).  It 
“gives  a  safe  attitude  toward  mental  processes”  (i),  and 
makes  a  saner  disciplinarian  (i).^ 

Psychology  is  calculated  also  to  improve  the  relation  of  the 
teacher  to  the  child,  since  the  teacher  who  has  studied  psy¬ 
chology  has  a  better  understanding  of  the  child’s  nature  (7), 
knows  what  to  expect  and  what  not  to  expect  of  children  (6), 
and  appreciates  individual  differences  in  children  (6). 

Un  the  words  of  one  enthusiastic  teacher;  “If  the  great  truths  presented  therein  are 
comprehended,  the  teacher  is  enabled  to  see  life  as  a  compact  whole,  with  all  its  mem¬ 
bers  bound  together  by  a  common  Creator,  common  temptations,  and  a  common  des¬ 
tiny.  He  is  able  to  rise  above  the  petty  vexatious  things  of  every-day  life  to  the  serene 
heights  attained  only  by  those  who  can  see  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  the  plan  of 
an  all-wise  Creator  working  itself  out  to  a  glorious  triumphant  ending!” 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


17 


Again,  psychology  renders  assistance  because  it  makes 
clear  the  real  nature  of  the  educative  process  (2),  particularly 
of  the  process  of  learning  (i),  and  shows  the  teacher  how  to 
develop  concepts  (i),  how  to  develop  ideals  and  motives  (i), 
how  to  secure  independent  work  by  pupils  (i),  and  how  to 
utilize  play,  imitation,  suggestion,  and  other  instinctive  ten¬ 
dencies. 

By  showing  the  physical  conditions  of  mental  life,  psy¬ 
chology  enables  teachers  to  understand  mental  hygiene  (3). 
It  is  said  both  to  “get  students  away  from  books,”  and  to 
“enable  them  to  understand  pedagogical  literature.” 

“It  induces  organization  with  reference  to  development  of 
children,  school  hygiene-nature  and  value  of  subject-matter, 
means  of  communication,  personal  and  social  control  ”(i). 

D.  THE  CONTENT  OF  THE  COURSE  IN  PSYCHOLOGY. 

Question  20.  Outline  of  topics  presented.  Only  8  outlines 
were  submitted  in  response  to  this  query.  These  have  been 
subsumed  under  Question  21.  One  institution  follows  a  state 
syllabus:  several  institutions  shift  the  contents  of  the  course 
from  year  to  year:  27  follow  a  prescribed  text-book  for  the 
content,  and  of  the  6o-odd  institutions  that  remain,  the 
majority  may  be  assumed  to  follow  a  text-book,  so  that  the 
content  of  the  course  is  best  indicated  in  the  list  of  texts  that 
follows. 

Question  9.  Text-book  used?  If  so,  what?  {a)  No  text 
is  used  in  5  institutions,  a  single  text-book  in  34,  two  texts  in 
26,  three  texts  in  15,  four  or  more  texts  in  12  institutions. 
Many  teachers  assert  emphatically  that  no  one  should  attempt 
to  teach  psychology  with  but  a  single  text-book,  and  it  is 
probable  that,  of  the  34  that  use  only  a  single  text,  there  is 
more  or  less  use  of  other  books  for  collateral  reading. 

{h)  Classification  of  texts  used  in  normal  schools. 

If  we  divide  the  texts,  as  reported,  into  three  groups,  we 
obtain  the  following  distribution:  (i)  extensively  used, — 
Angell,  Halleck,  James,  Thorndike,  Titchener;  (2)  less  exten- 


i8 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


sively  used, — Betts,  Dexter  and  Garlick,  Gordy,  Kirkpatrick 
Salisbury,  Witmer,  (3)  used  only  occasionally, — Baker,  Bald¬ 
win,  Binet,  Buell,  Davis,  Deatrick,  Dewey,  Hall,  Hannahs, 
Harris,  Hill,  Horne,  Huey, Judd,  Ladd,  Maher,  McLellan, 
Morgan,  Putnam,  Ribot,  Roark,  Sanford,  Seashore,  Stout, 
Sully,  Tracy,  White. 

It  is  to  be  understood,  of  course,  that  many  institutions 
that  use  one  of  these  books  for  a  text  make  more  or  less  use 
of  others  for  outside  reading,  especially  of  texts  on  experi¬ 
mental  work,  such  as  Judd,  Seashore,  Sanford,  Titchener, 
Witmer.  Use  is  made  also  of  Baldwin’s  Dictionary  of  Psychol¬ 
ogy  and  of  texts  in  neurology  and  physiology. 

Question  2 1 .  Distribution  of  time  to  the  several  topics  within 
the  course.  Because  the  majority  of  teachers  follow  the  dis¬ 
tribution  found  in  the  text-book  at  hand  it  is  well-nigh  impos¬ 
sible  to  present  a  satisfactory  picture  of  the  distribution  of 
time  in  normal  schools  to  the  several  topics  that  comprise 
the  usual  course  in  psychology.  Unless  these  text-books  are 
collected  and  examined,  the  status  of  the  courses  in  which  they 
are  used  cannot  be  reduced  to  quantitative  terms,  and  the 
difficulty  of  this  task  has  seemed  out  of  proportion  to  the 
probable  value  of  the  results  that  would  be  obtained.  In 
some  35  cases,  the  classification  embodied  in  the  questionary 
has  been  utilized,  and  these  data  have  been  summarized  in 
Table  3.^ 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  feature  of  this  Table  is  the 
divergence  that  it  reveals  in  the  extent  of  time  that  different 
institutions  devote  to  the  several  topics.  This  divergence  is, 
of  course,  due  in  large  part  to  the  divergence  already  noted  in 
the  total  amount  of  time  devoted  to  psychology,  yet  it  seems 
worth  while  to  accentuate  the  variability  in  the  allotment  of 


^In  explanation  of  this  Table,  it  should  be  said  that  the  data  were  submitted  in  abso¬ 
lute,  in  relative,  and  in  descriptive  terms.  Where  the  distribution  of  time  was  indicated 
as  a  fraction  of  the  total  time,  this  has  been  recalculated  by  reference  to  the  data  sup¬ 
plied  under  Question  5  so  that  it  might  be  stated  in  absolute  units.  The  descriptive 
terms  have  been  reduced  to  three  groups,  (i)  “incidental,”  “brief,”  or  “very  little,” 
(2)  “some,”  “occasional,”  (3)  “much,”  “emphasized,”  or  “special  attention.” 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


19 


time  by  bringing  together  in  another  place  (Table  4)  the  min¬ 
imal  and  the  maximal  time  devoted  to  the  several  topics,  in  so 
far  as  this  is  revealed  by  the  data  of  Table  3d 

Table  3. 


Distribution  of  Time  to  Various  Topics  in  Psychology,  by  Number  of  Institutions. 


i  s  • 

Notions  of  Scientific 
Method. 

Quasi-Philosophical 

Problems. 

Central  Nervous  System. 

Sensation  and  the  Sense- 
organs. 

Attention  and  Interest. 

Affection,  Emotion. 

Reflexes,  Instincts. 

Learning,  Habit,  Educa¬ 
tive  Processes. 

Complex  Action. 

Association. 

Perception,  Observation. 

Memory. 

Imagination. 

Conception,  Reasoning. 

Mental  Development, 

Child-study,  etc. 

Individual  Differences. 

Animal  Psychology. 

Sleep,  Dreams,  etc. 

1  Hygiene  of  the  Sense- 

1  organs.  Fatigue. 

a 

b 

C 

d 

e 

f 

g 

h 

i 

i 

k 

1 

m 

n 

0 

P 

q 

r 

s 

I 

3 

I 

2 

I 

I 

1 

3 

-I 

Lessons 

< 

2 

6 

9 

2 

I 

2 

2 

2 

2 

3 

2 

I 

4 

2 

4 

3 

4 

2 

3 

5 

5 

2 

3 

3 

I 

6 

I 

2 

2 

3 

2 

3 

3 

2 

2 

3 

4 

2 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

2 

I 

3 

3 

I 

I 

I 

I 

2 

6 

7 

7 

6 

7 

4 

6 

12 

9 

10 

7 

2 

2 

I 

4 

3 

2 

3 

8 

8 

8 

13 

8 

9 

9 

5 

5 

7 

9 

13 

I 

I 

I 

I 

2 

3 

I 

I 

4 

3 

I 

2 

I 

3 

2 

5 

4 

I 

I 

I 

2 

4 

3 

3 

I 

I 

3 

2 

I 

5 

2 

I 

1 

W  eeks 

6 

I 

2 

I 

9 

2 

I 

10 

I 

13 

I 

[24 

I 

Very  little . 

5 

8 

4 

I 

I 

3 

3 

5 

3 

I 

I 

I 

I 

4 

4 

10 

6 

Some . 

4 

4 

3 

2 

6 

Much  .... 

I 

I 

3 

9 

5 

3 

7 

I 

4 

S 

5 

2 

3 

6 

6 

I 

I 

*This  divergence  in  emphasis  of  different  phases  of  psychology  in  the  normal  school 
may  be  further  illustrated  by  the  following  examples  of  questions  selected  from  num¬ 
erous  examination  papers  submitted  with  the  replies  to  the  questionary.  An  inspec¬ 
tion  of  these  questions  will  convince  the  reader  that  the  instruction  in  the  schools  con¬ 
cerned  is  sometimes  too  technical,  sometimes  too  diffuse,  and  that  it  often  exacts  on 
the  part  of  the  pupils  ability  to  answer  questions  that  scarcely  conform  to  a  scientific 
standard. 

1.  On  what  does  the  value  of  a  school  exercise  depend? 

2.  Why  is  he  who  is  no  longer  a  student  unfit  to  lead  others? 

3.  Name  10  standpoints  from  which  one  may  study  the  stream  of  thought. 


20 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


Table  4. 

Minimal  and  Maximal  Amounts  of  Time  Devoted  to  Important  Topics  in  the  Course  in 

Psychology. 


Topic. 

Minimal  Time. 

Maximal  Time. 

(a)  Scientific  methods . 

I  Lesson 

4  Periods 

(b)  Quasi-philosophical  problems 

I  Lesson 

3  Weeks 

(c)  Central  nervous  system . 

I  Lesson 

9  Weeks 

(d)  Sensation  and  the  sense-organs . 

I  Lesson 

9  Weeks 

(e)  Attention  and  interest 

2  Lessons 

3  Weeks 

(f)  Affection,  feeling,  and  emotion . 

3  Lessons 

3  Weeks 

(g)  Reflexes  and  instincts . 

2  Lessons 

3  Weeks 

(h)  Learning,  habit,  educative  processes . 

2  Lessons 

6  Weeks 

(i)  Action  and  volition . 

2  Lessons 

4  Weeks 

(j)  Association . 

2  Lessons 

3  Weeks 

(k)  Perception  and  observation 

2  Lessons 

4  Weeks 

(1)  Memory . 

I  Lesson 

3  Weeks 

(m)  Imagination . 

2  Lessons 

2  Weeks 

(n)  Conception,  judging,  reasoning . 

2  Lessons 

4  Weeks 

(0)  Mental  development,  heredity,  child-study 
and  adolescence . 

3  Lessons 

24  Weeks 

(p)  Individual  differences . 

I  Lesson 

5  Weeks 

(q)  Animal  psychology . 

I  Lesson 

5  Weeks 

(r)  Hypnotism,  sleep,  dreams,  etc . 

5  Lesson 

3  Weeks 

(s)  Hygiene  of  the  senses,  fatigue,  etc . 

2  Lessons 

4  Weeks 

4.  What  must  precede  the  sensation  of  the  color  of  your  paper?  The  same  of  the 
odor? 

5.  Analyze  water  in  terms  of  the  Atomic  theory. 

6.  Distinguish  between  sensations  and  associations. 

7.  Name  10  differences  in  pitch. 

8.  Is  an  educated  man  always  a  good  man? 

9.  Outline  imagination  as  in  class. 

10.  Recall  the  weight  of  your  books  on  your  arm:  contrast  and  compare  the  weight 
of  the  inner  order  with  that  of  the  outer  order. 

1 1 .  Give  in  full  the  principles  of  a  system  of  education  that  is  the  logical  outcome  of 
psychology. 

12.  Name  50  instincts,  localizing  each  loosely  in  its  period. 

13.  What  is  right,  good,  wrong,  evil,  and  what  drives  us  to  do  right? 

14.  Define  materialism,  personal  identity,  intuition,  synthesis,  enthymeme. 

15.  Name  10  recognized  psychologists:  mention  some  of  their  writings  and  state  their 
general  position  in  the  field  of  psychology. 

16.  Is  space  subjective  or  objective?  Give  your  reasons  for  our  answer. 

17  Discuss  the  validity  of  the  conclusions  reached  by  experimental  psychology. 

18.  Arrange  a  program  of  studies  for  children  from  three  to  sixteen  that  shall  be  in 
harmony  with  genetic  psychology. 

19.  Explain  the  psychologic  basis  of  “I  think,  therefore  I  am.” 

20.  What  is  meant  by  intuitive  knowledge?  Give  three  classes  of  intuitions. 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


21 


E.  METHOD  OF  CONDUCTING  THE  WORK  IN  PSYCHOLOGY. 

Question  10.  Use  of  the  text-hook.  Of  73  replies,  67 
asserted  that  the  text-book  was  the  chief  feature  of  the  work, 
i.e.,  the  text  supplied  the  essential  information,  formed  the 
basis  of  recitations,  discussions,  etc.  In  6  other  schools,  the 
text-book  is  the  main  feature  of  the  course,  but  there  are  con¬ 
siderable  departures  into  fields  not  therein  presented.  In  7 
institutions,  the  work  emphatically  does  not  center  about  a 
text-book,  but  consists  in  a  discussion  of  the  experiences  of 
the  students  and  of  their  observations  of  the  behavior  of 
children.  In  some  of  these  institutions  a  text-book  is 
employed,  but  more  than  half  of  the  time  of  the  class  is 
occupied  with  discussions,  outside  reading,  and  lectures  by 
the  teacher. 

As  an  example  of  work  which  is  but  little  confined  to  a  text,  I  may  refer 
to  the  extended  report  submitted  by  Prof.  Frank  Manny  of  Kalamazoo, 
Michigan,  in  the  course^ of  which  he  says:  “In  the  introductory  courses, 
the  problem  in  each  case  is  to  learn  to  read  the  text  and  similar  material 
in  the  library  with  intelligence.”  A  handbook  is  issued  which  serves  the 
pupils  as  an  aid  in  selecting  material.  “We  aim  to  introduce  students 
to  some  of  the  literature  and  materials  with  which  they  need  acquaint¬ 
ance  for  work  in  classrooms,  teachers’  meetings,  private  study,  etc.” 
About  one-fourth  of  the  time  is  given  to  “very  exact  ‘ reaction- work, ’ 
such  as  five  or  ten  minutes  writing  on  a  prepared  or  unprepared  topic, 
fairly  extended  individual  recitation  with  a  view  to  test  ability  to  ‘  think 
through’  and  organize  a  definite  section  in  its  larger  relations.  This 
frees  the  rest  of  the  time  for  more  informal  discussion  and  conference. 
Informal  lectures  take  probably  another  fourth  of  the  time.  A  physician 
came  in  and  gave  demonstrations  on  the  human  brain.  Some  simple 
experimentation  is  done  along  the  lines  suggested  by  Thorndike,  Judd, 
Witmer,  and  Seashore.” 

Question  15.  Studying  in  the  class.  In  one  institution 
nearly  all  the  studying  done  by  the  pupils  is  actually  carried 
on  during  the  periods  that  the  class  meets:  in  8  institutions 
the  class  hour  is  either  often  used  entirely  for  studying  or  a 
portion  of  it  is  regularly  so  used:  in  15  institutions  the  class 
period  is  occasionally  used  as  a  study  period,  e.g.,  during  the 
first  few  days  or  at  other  times  when  the  work  is  difficult  or 
during  the  discussion  of  the  assignment  for  the  following 
lesson:  in  the  majority  of  institutions  (66),  however,  all 
studying  is  done  outside  of  the  meeting  period  of  the  class. 


22 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


Question  16.  Use  of  lectures.  Of  73  teachers  who  give 
lectures  in  the  classroom,  14  confine  these  lectures  to  an  expo¬ 
sition  of  the  material  of  the  text-book;  25  lecture  only  on 
topics  not  treated  in  the  text;  34  lecture  both  on  the  text¬ 
book  and  on  outside  topics. 

Question  19.  Lectures  by  non-faculty  members.  No  normal 
school  reports  a  regular  system  of  public  lectures  by  ‘outside’ 
talent.  In  one  school  there  are  frequent,  in  36  occasional 
lectures  on  psychological  matters  by  visiting  authorities. 

Question  11.  Devices  of  method.  The  compilation  of  the 
replies  concerning  the  plans  used  to  present  psychology  offers 
somewhat  the  same  difficulty  that  was  encountered  in  Ques¬ 
tion  21  (distribution  of  time  to  topics),  although  the  replies 
are  more  numerous  and  the  generalizations  are  correspond¬ 
ingly  more  reliable. 

Table  5  summarizes  the  results,  by  number  of  institutions, 
in  three  groups,  according  as  the  replies  were  given  in  descrip¬ 
tive,  absolute,  or  relative  terms.  For  convenience,  the  chief 
points  of  interest  in  this  Table  are  here  restated  in  verbal 
form. 

(a)  Lectures  by  the  teacher.  The  most  common  proportion 
of  time  expended  in  lectures  is  one-fifth.  Most  normal- 
school  teachers  of  psychology  make  occasional  use  of  lectures, 
but  it  is  not  usual  to  devote  as  much  as  one-half  of  the  time 
to  them.  The  single  institution  in  which  lectures  are  given 
daily  is  that  at  Danbury,  Connecticut,  where  but  22  hours 
in  all  are  given  to  psychology.  Most  of  the  lectures  reported 
as  ‘occasional’  are  of  an  informal  nature  and  restricted  to 
portions  of  the  subject-matter  that  offer  particular  difficulty. 

{b)  Demonstrations  by  the  teacher.  These  exercises  are,  as 
a  rule,  used  but  seldom  in  the  normal-school  course.  Pre¬ 
sumably  5  minutes  per  day  would  cover  the  time  thus  expended 
in  the  average  institution.  In  so  far  as  reported, 
the  demonstrations  appear  to  be  confined  almost  wholly  to 
the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  brain  or  of  the  special 
senses,  and  only  infrequently  serve  to  illustrate  more  strictly 
psychological  principles.^  It  is  probably  fair  to  assume  that 

‘See  also  under  question  13,  in  Section  F.  below. 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


23 


Table  5. 

Frequency  of  Employtncnt  of  Dif  event  Methods  of  Presenting  Psychology 


most  of  the  50  teachers  that  did  not  reply  to  this  point  do  not 
use  any  form  of  class  demonstration. 

(c)  Experiments  by  students.  As  43  teachers  do  not  reply 
to  this  point,  and  as  43  of  the  57  who  do  reply  report  either 
merely  ‘yes’  or  ‘seldom,’  it  is  obvious  that,  unless  a  special 
course  is  given  in  experimental  work,  or  a  special  period  is 
set  apart  for  it  weekly,  the  normal-school  student  of  psy¬ 
chology  does  little  or  no  experimental  work. 


24 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


The  following  compilation  of  the  subject-matter  of  these 
student  experiments  shows  that  most  instructors  do  not  use 
a  regular  laboratory  manual,  but  pick  up  a  few  simple  experi¬ 
ments  from  texts  like  Witmer  or  Titchener’s  Primer  of  Psy¬ 
chology,  and  that  the  work  is  confined  for  the  most  part  to 
sensation  (especially  the  eye,  ear,  and  skin)  and  to  association, 
memory,  and  reaction-time. 


SUBJECT-MATTER  OF  EXPERIMENTS,  BY  NUMBER  OF  INSTITUTIONS, 


Dealing  with  sensation  and  perception 


Sensation  (not  specified) .  4 

Tests  of  the  senses .  3 

Training  of  the  senses .  i 

Visual  sensation .  3 

Optical  illusions .  3 

Color  mixture .  i 

After-images .  i 

Color  Vision .  i 

Hearing . 3 

Temperature  .  3 

Esthesiometry  .  i 

Weber’s  law .  i 

Space  perception .  2 

Localization  of  sound .  i 


Dealing  with  other  Topics 


Attention .  i 

Reaction-time .  i 

Association .  5 

Memory .  9 

Imagery .  i 

Habit .  I 

Fatigue .  2 

Estimation  of  distances .  i 


Suggestions  for  this  work  are  derived  from  Judd  (2),  San¬ 
ford  (i).  Scripture  (i).  Seashore  (4),  Titchener  (5),  Witmer 
(7)- 

{d)  Class  discussions.  The  practise  of  holding  class  dis¬ 
cussions  of  text  or  lecture  is  observed  in  a  large  proportion  of 
normal  schools,  and  in  many  cases  such  discussions  occupy  a 
large  share,  one-half  or  more,  of  the  daily  recitation  period. 
This  practise  has,  of  course,  both  advantages  and  disadvan¬ 
tages,  chief  among  the  latter  being  the  waste  of  time, — at 
least  the  waste  of  time  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  exposition 
of  a  system  of  psychology. 

{e)  Dictation.  It  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  data  at  hand 
that  in  69  of  the  100  schools  listed,  no  use  is  made  of  formal 
dictation  by  the  teacher  to  pupil.  In  the  24  schools  where 
occasional  dictation  is  reported,  the  material  thus  presented 
appears  to  be  outlines  or  summaries.  Some  5  institutions 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


25 


indulge  in  what  is  undoubtedly  an  undesirable  use  of  this 
form  of  instruction.  In  one  school,  indeed,  the  work  in  psy¬ 
chology  consists  substantially  in  the  dictation  from  day  to 
day  of  the  substance  of  a  text-book  on  psychology. 

(/)  Written  exercises.  The  normal  schools  make  much 
use  of  written  exercises  in  the  form  of  topic-reviews,  themes, 
tests,  answers  to  questions  in  the  text,  or  individual  reports 
of  various  kinds.  A  frequently  reported  plan  is  to  have  some 
form  of  written  exercise  at  the  conclusion  of  each  main  topic 
in  the  course. 

(g)  Introspective  exercises.  A  few  schools  give  their  pupils 
training  in  introspection  in  connection  with  experimental 
work:  a  few  have  regular  introspective  exercises:  the  larger 
number  make  but  rare  or  semi-occasional  use  of  introspective 
exercises.  The  statement  of  one  teacher  :‘'Wegivejustenough 
to  get  the  method  ”  is  so  typical  of  many  statements  that  one 
has  the  impression  that  the  value  of  introspective  work  as  a 
constant  accompaniment  oi  the  course  in  psychology  is  not  prop¬ 
erly  recognized  by  many  normal-school  teachers.  Introspec¬ 
tion  is  looked  upon  as  something  to  be  defined  or  understood, 
or  even  to  be  tried  once  and  then  dropped.  It  does  not  ap¬ 
pear  always  to  be  understood  that  to  teach  psychology  one 
must  make  the  student  psychologize. 

(h)  Exercises  in  observation.  This  form  of  work  is  used 
with  about  the  same  frequency  as  individual  introspective 
exercises.  It  consists  largely  in  some  form  of  child-study 
work,  usually  in  reports  upon  the  children  (or  upon  the  work 
of  the  teachers)  in  the  practise-school.  In  perhaps  a  fifth  of 
the  schools  this  observation-work  may  be  said  to  be  a  promi¬ 
nent  feature  of  the  instruction  in  psychology:  here  the  obser¬ 
vation-work  is  extensive  in  scope ;  the  data  are  tabulated  and 
often  subjected  later  to  class-discussion. 

{i)  Outside  reading  in  books  other  than  the  text-book.  This 
kind  of  instruction  is  in  almost  universal  use.  It  may  take 
the  form  of  assigned  references  upon  which  written  reports 
are  required  from  all  students,  or  of  individual  reports  from 
different  books  on  different  topics,  especially  if  the  class  be 
large  or  the  library  small.  The  reading  is,  I  judge,  for  the 


26 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


most  part  in  text-books,  though  some  schools  make  a  feature 
of  assigning  reading  in  current  psychological  magazines  or  in 
the  monographic  literature  of  child-study.  In  one  institution 
where  no  regular  text  is  used,  all  of  the  work  is  based  upon 
such  reports  of  outside  reading.  Many  teachers  are  hampered 
by  a  lack  of  library  facilities :  there  are  not  enough  reference 
books  to  ‘go  round,’  and  the  files  of  educational  and  psycho- 
ogical  magazines  are  scanty  and  incomplete.  Herein,  inci¬ 
dentally,  lies  another  reason  for  the  hesitation  of  the  normal- 
school  psychologist  to  embark  upon  research  work  or  to 
engage  in  publication. 

ij)  Personal  appointments  with  students  to  discuss  difficul¬ 
ties.  In  about  one-half  of  the  normal  schools  the  teacher  of 
psychology  has  occasional  personal  meetings  with  students. 
As  a  rule  these  meetings  are  voluntary  on  the  part  of  the 
student:  if  otherwise,  it  is  either  the  student  that  is  likely 
to  fail  or  the  advanced  student  with  a  special  problem  that  is 
summoned  to  an  appointment. 

{k)  Printed  lists  of  questions  for  use  by  students.  Only  25 
institutions  employ  this  useful  and  time-saving  device.  The 
lists  reported  range  from  occasional  dictation  or  black-board 
presentation  of  a  few  questions  to  the  use  of  questions  printed 
in  text-books  or  in  training-school  or  state  examinations  in 
psychology.  Five  teachers  have  printed  for  local  use  fairly 
comprehensive  lists  of  questions,  with  or  without  accompany¬ 
ing  synopses  of  lectures. 

(/)  Other  devices.  Methods  of  making  the  presentation 
successful,  other  than  those  already  discussed,  are  reported  as 
follows: — dictation  of  an  outline  of  psychology  in  the  form 
of  a  series  of  questions  and  answers  (3),  note-books  or  out¬ 
lines  to  be  handed  in  by  the  students  (2),  arrangement  of 
debates  on  psychological  or  psycho-educational  questions 
(2),  organization  of  a  “psychological  club,’’  character  study 
of  the  pupil’s  self,  ‘slip-exercises’  about  every  other  les¬ 
son,  mimeographed  directions  and  references  for  the  con¬ 
duct  of  simple  experiments,  study  of  charts  and  models, 
the  making  of  drawings  and  charts,  blackboard  schematic 
drawings  to  represent  the  topics  read  about,  much  time  devoted 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


27 


to  definitions,  lo-minute  oral  summary  of  a  topic  by  a  pupil 
followed  by  general  discussion  of  this  summary,  a  weekly 
report  of  reading  accomplished  bearing  on  the  coursed 

Question  12.  Which  device  is  most  valuable?  In  77  replies 
the  following  preferences  are  indicated:  class  discussions  (22), 
observation  work  (13),  introspective  exercises  (ii),  outside 
reading  (7),  lectures  by  the  teacher  (5),  experimental  work 
(4),  printed  outline  of  the  course  (3),  and  one  each  for  the 
following:  informal  ’text-book  talks,’  individual  and  group 
work  with  children,  application  of  psychology  in  actual  teach¬ 
ing,  oral  recitations,  demonstrations  by  the  teacher,  personal 
appointments,  questions  by  the  inductive  method,  “enlarge 
(?)  drawings  of  the  brain,’’  blackboard  diagrams  of  psycho¬ 
logical  principles,  collection  of  charts,  analysis  of  concrete 
instances  of  conduct,  “use  of  the  text  through  personal  expo¬ 
sition.  ’’ 

F.  THE  USE  OF  EXPERIMENTAL  OR  LABORATORY  WORK  IN 

THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 

Question  3.  Courses  in  experimental  psychology.  Only  4 
institutions  report  a  regular  course  in  experimental  psychology 
viz:  Duluth,  Minn.;  Cedar  Falls,  low^a;  Emporia,  Kansas; 
and  Greeley,  Col.  Duluth,  in  fact,  offers  two  courses:  those 
at  Emporia  and  Greeley  are  more  on  the  order  of  experimental 
pedagogy  than  of  regular  experimental  psychology. 

In  a  number  of  schools  circumstances  are  such  that  a  for¬ 
mal  course  in  experimental  work  is  out  of  the  question,  yet  a 


*This  device  reported  from  a  Michigan  school,  deserves  a  short  explanation.  I  quote 
as  follows:  “One  device  gives  very  satisfactory  results:  it  is  called  the  “Weekly  Com¬ 
munication”  and  is  due  each  Monday.  The  requirement  is  simple  and  does  not  need 
to  take  more  than  five  minutes.  It  is  that  the  student  list  any  reading  he  has  done 
during  the  week  that  has  bearing  upon  the  course  he  is  taking.  Many  students  very 
soon  come  to  extend  this  to  cover  practically  all  their  reading  and  also  to  mention  lec¬ 
tures,  sermons,  concerts,  observations,  etc.  In  many  cases  comment  is  made  and 
questions  asked  which  lead  to  real  communication.  Where  the  matter  is  too  involved 
for  writing,  there  is  a  conference  at  office  hours,  or  at  my  home,  or  on  Friday  afternoon 
tramps  in  the  case  of  the  boys.  The  time  given  to  reading  these  ‘  communications’ 
is  a  real  pleasure  and  it  always  brings  to  my  notice  material  of  value  which  otherwise 
would  have  escaped  me.” 


28 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


considerable  amount  of  this  work  is  incorporated  in  the 
courses  in  general  or  educational  psychology. 

Question  4.  The  laboratory  equipment. 

{a)  Is  there  a  psychological  laboratory?  Five  of  lOO  schools 
reply  in  the  affirmative,  but  only  3  (Los  Angeles,  Greeley, and 
the  Brooklyn  Training  School)  seem  to  have  an  equipment 
worthy  of  the  name. 

{b)  Any  collection  of  psychological  apparatus.  Although 
33  schools  report  collections  of  apparatus  (not  large  enough  or 
sufficently  organized  to  term  a  laboratory),  these  collections 
are  for  the  most  part  but  scanty  and  are  not  strictly  psycho¬ 
logical  in  character,  but  comprised  of  models,  charts,  and 
lantern  slides  illustrative  of  the  central  nervous  system  or  of 
the  sense-organs. 

(c)  Its  value.  From  26  replies,  it  is  found  that  the  average 
value  of  the  laboratory  or  collection  of  material  is  $215,  the 
maximal  value  $1000  (Brooklyn  Training  School),  the  mini¬ 
mal  value  about  $25.  The  laboratory  at  Greeley  is  appraised 
at  $500,  that  at  Los  Angeles  at  $300. 

{d)  When  established  or  collected.  The  oldest  ‘  laboratory’ 
dates  from  1893  (purchase  of  $500  worth  of  apparatus  by  the 
Keystone  Normal  School,  Kutztown,  Pa.) :  all  the  others  date 
since  1903.  Three  institutions  are  starting  laboratories  dur¬ 
ing  the  present  year  (1908-9).  It  may  be  recalled  in  this 
connection  that  a  large  number  of  teachers  desire  to  institute 
laboratory  work  in  the  normal  schools  as  soon  as  local  condi¬ 
tions  will  permit  (Question  32). 

{e)  Yearly  appropriation.  Only  5  replies  were  received: 
three  stated  that  appropriations  could  be  secured  to  meet  the 
teacher’s  demands  from  time  to  time.  The  Albany  State 
Normal  School  will  soon  have  a  yearly  appropriation,  though 
the  amount  is  not  yet  known.  The  Central  State  Normal 
School,  Mt.  Pleasant,  Michigan,  is  the  only  institution  in 
our  list  of  100  that  enjoys  a  yearly  appropriation  ($250)  for 
the  equipment  of  a  psychological  or  psycho-educational 
laboratory. 

(/)  Housing  of  the  collection  of  apparatus.  From  15 
answers,  we  learn  that  7  schools  have  a  separate  room  given 
over  to  work  in  psychology,  while  in  the  remaining  8  the 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


29 


psychological  apparatus  is  housed  in  rooms  devoted  to  other 
laboratory  work,  usually  to  physics  or  biology.  In  a  number 
of  schools  the  modest  equipment  of  charts  or  brain  models  is 
tucked  away  somewhere  in  a  recitation-room,  while  several 
teachers  regret  that  what  little  material  they  possess  is  not 
available  for  want  of  room. 

Question  13.  Demonstrations  of  an  experimental  character 
given  in  class.  The  frequency  of  the  use  of  demonstrations 
is  shown  in  the  following  list: 


Reaction-time . 

Memory . 

Tests  of  association . . . . 
Central  nervous  system 

Optical  illusions . 

Fatigue . 

Color  mixture . 

Range  of  attention . 

Duration  of  attention . . 
Auditory  localization . . . 

Perception . 

Apperception . 

Feeling-tone . 


6  Use  of  kymograph . 

5  Field  of  vision . 

4  Dermal  sensation . 

4  Sense  training . 

3  Color  sense  tests . 

3  Tests  of  senses . 

2  Tests  of  discrimination 

2  Motor  sense . 

2  Weber’s  law . 

2  Visual  perception . 

2  Reflex  action . 

2  Imagination . 

2  Thought  processes .... 


The  list,  it  will  be  noted,  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  that 
of  the  experiments  performed  by  students  (Question  ii,  c). 

Question  14.  Apparatus  deemed  especially  useful  for  demon¬ 
strations.  The  order  here  naturally  reflects  in  large  measure 
the  preferences  of  the  preceding  list. 


Reaction- time  apparatus^ .  8 

Color  mixer .  6 

Ergograph .  4 

Charts .  4 

Tuning  forks .  4 

Brain  models .  4 

Kymograph .  3 

Pseudoptics .  3 

Set  of  lantern  slides .  2 

D  rop-screen  apparatus .  2 

Test- weights .  2 

Tambours .  2 

Monochord .  2 

Autoharp .  i 

Audiometer .  i 


Colored  papers .  i 

Electric  motor .  i 

Esthesiometer .  i 

Galton  whistle .  i 

Ophthalmotrope .  i 

Prisms .  i 

Sphygomgraph .  i 

Spirometer .  i 

Stereoscope .  i 

Resonators .  i 

‘Tapper’ .  i 

‘  Time  of  movement  apparatus’ . .  i 

‘  Test  of  attention’ .  i 

Witmer’s  test  material .  i 


1  Usually  Sanford’s  Vernier  chronoscope,  although  one  school  boasts  a  Hipp. 


3° 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


G.  CONCLUSIONS  AND  SUGGESTIONS. 

1.  The  normal  school  as  an  institution  differs  in  so  many 
respects  (requirements  for  entrance,  age  of  pupils,  length  of 
course,  professional  aim,  etc.)  from  the  college  or  university 
that  the  teaching  of  psychology  in  the  one  differs,  and  in  all 
probability  must  differ,  from  its  teaching  in  the  other.  It 
follows  that  what  proves  to  be  best  for  the  college  course  in 
psychology  is  not  necessarily  best  for  the  normal-school 
course  in  psychology.^ 

2.  It  would  undoubtedly  be  advantageous  to  arrange 
conferences  among  those  who  are  interested  in  normal-school 
psychology,  for  the  interchange  of  views  and  for  the  discussion 
of  the  problems  suggested  by  this  Report.  I  should,  there¬ 
fore,  recommend  that  this  Association  appoint  a  Committee 
to  draw  up  an  advisory  syllabus  of  subject-matter,  to  supply 
lists  of  references,  to  outline  suitable  experiments  and  demon¬ 
strations,  and,  in  general,  to  standardize,  so  far  as  may  prove 
feasible,  the  normal-school  course  in  psychology. 

3.  The  teacher  of  normal-school  psychology  should  have 
received  at  least  three  years  of  special  graduate  training  in  one 
or  more  universities.  This  training  should  be  such  as  is 
required  for  the  doctor’s  degree,  and  should  include  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  laboratory  methods.  The  study  of  the 
science  of  education  should  have  received  a  degree  of  atten¬ 
tion  at  least  equal  to  that  required  for  a  minor  subject  for 
the  doctorate,  and  the  teacher  should  have  paid  special 
regard  to  the  points  of  contact  between  these  two  subjects. 

4.  It  is  desirable  that  the  normal-school  teacher  of  psy¬ 
chology  confine  his  work  to  that  field.  If  circumstances  com¬ 
pel  him  to  teach  other  subjects,  it  is  best  that  these  subjects 
be  those  closely  correlated  with  psychology  in  the  work  of 
the  institution,  viz:  general  and  special  methods,  school 
hygiene,  child-study,  the  principles  of  education,  observa¬ 
tion  and  practise-teaching.  These  are,  in  fact,  the  combina- 

^  The  writer  keenly  appreciates  these  differences,  and  has  had  no  personal  experience 
in  normal-school  teaching.  Hence  the  propositions  that  follow  are  offered  with  no 
thought  of  authoritativeness,  but  solely  with  the  idea  that  they  may  serve  as  a  provis¬ 
ional  basis  for  discussion. 


PSYCnOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


31 


tions  most  commonly  found.  Biology  and  physiology,  and 
perhaps  to  a  less  extent,  ethics  and  logic,  if  these  are  taught, 
may  also  be  regarded  as  natural  concurrent  lines  of  work  in 
the  small  school  with  few  teachers. 

5.  Given  the  preparation  described  in  Proposition  3,  the 
normal-school  teacher  of  psychology  should  have  his  work  so 
arranged  that  he  secures  the  time  and  the  energy  required  for 
productive  original  work.  This  point  is  urged  from  the  con¬ 
viction  that,  although  the  normal  school  is  essentially  a 
training  school  and  is  conducted  for  the  immediate  benefit 
of  its  students,  nevertheless,  many  capable  teachers  of  psy¬ 
chology  can  undertake  original  work  with  consequent  increase 
of  their  teaching  efficiency  and  with  advantage  to  the  cause 
of  learning,  and  from  the  further  conviction  that,  if  normal- 
school  teaching  is  to  offer  nothing  but  routine  class  work,  the 
better  class  of  college  and  university  graduates  will  never 
look  to  these  institutions  for  a  permanent  career. 

6.  The  teaching  of  psychology  in  the  normal  school  un¬ 
questionably  presents  difficulties  that  are  greater  than  those 
met  with  in  the  college.  This  condition  follows  (i)  from  the 
immaturity  and  meager  general  information  of  the  average 
student,  (2)  from  the  short  time  available  for  the  entire  course, 
and  (3)  from  the  constant  pressure  to  make  everything  simple 
and  immediately  practical.  To  meet  the  first  difficulty  the 
normal  school  should  require  a  four-year  high-school  course 
as  a  prerequisite  for  admission:  to  meet  the  second,  it  should 
rearrange  or  extend  its  own  curriculum:  the  third  would  be 
partially  avoided  by  these  two  modifications;  it  may  be  fur¬ 
ther  met  by  securing  teachers  who  know  enough  psychology 
to  adapt  it  to  the  situation.  Just  now,  in  not  a  few  normal 
schools,  lack  of  preparation  of  the  teacher  is  probably  as 
evident  as  lack  of  preparation  of  the  student. 

7.  In  schools  offering  more  than  a  two-year  course,  it 
would  probably  be  found  advantageous  to  give  to  first-year 
students  a  brief,  elementary,  and  introductory  course  in  psy¬ 
chology  designed  for  general  orientation,  and  to  give  one  or 
more  advanced,  systematic  courses  to  the  same  students  in 
the  last  year. 


32 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


8.  In  the  normal  school  it  is  not  necessary,  and  probably 
on  the  whole  it  is  not  desirable,  to  separate  general  and  educa¬ 
tional  psychology. 

9.  There  is  no  need  in  the  normal  school  for  courses,  either 
required  or  elective,  in  physiological  or  in  abnormal  psychology. 

10.  Psychology  should  be  taken  up  either  before,  or 
together  with,  courses  in  the  principles  of  education,  child- 
study,  and  exercises  in  observation  or  practise-teaching,  and 
the  study  of  special  methods  of  teaching  the  several  studies. 
A  course  in  ‘general  method’  would  appear  to  be  quite  un¬ 
necessary  if  the  educational  psychology  has  been  properly 
taught. 

11.  The  average  time  given  to  psychology  in  normal  schools, 
90  actual  hours,  is  sufficient,  if  properly  utilized,  for  the  pre¬ 
sentation  of  a  sound  course  in  psychology,  general  and  educa¬ 
tional.  If  elective  or  advanced  courses  are  to  be  introduced, 
more  than  90  hours  are  needed. 

12.  Classes  numbering  more  than  50  students  ought  to 
meet  in  two  or  more  sections,  and  no  one  of  these  should 
exceed  30  to  35  students,  if  the  best  work  is  to  be  accomplished. 

13.  The  general  aim  or  purpose  of  normal-school  psychol¬ 
ogy  is  phrased  in  much  the  same  way  by  the  majority  of 
teachers,  who  seek  to  impart  such  an  acquaintance  with 
mental  operations  as  shall  contribute  to  the  success  of  the 
graduate  in  his  professional  work.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
this  statement  of  the  aim  is  not  definite  enough  to  determine 
the  actual  content  and  method  of  presentation  of  the  course. 
The  aim  as  thus  stated  might,  for  example,  be  interpreted 
to  mean  that  a  number  of  isolated  facts  or  principles  should  be 
selected  from  psychology  and  applied  to  the  art  of  teaching; 
or,  to  mean  that  examples  of  educational  procedure  should 
be  analyzed  in  the  effort  to  work  back  to  the  psychological 
principles  involved  in  them;  or,  again,  to  mean  that  the  course 
should  be  conducted  in  such  a  way  as  to  develop  a  ‘  point  of 
view’  in  the  student’s  mind.  For  myself,  I  am  convinced 
that  the  first  aim  must  be  to  familiarize  the  student  with  his 
own  mental  processes:  only  when  he  has  thus  learned  to 
‘psychologize’  can  he  be  taught  to  see  the  application  of 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


33 


psychology  in  the  classroom.  And  I  am  convinced,  further¬ 
more,  that  the  preliminary  appreciation  of  the  ‘  lawful’  charac¬ 
ter  of  mind  which  the  first  aim  implies  can  be  gained  best 
through  the  presentation  of  psychological  principles  in  a 
systematic  manner.  The  first  aim  is,  therefore,  to  secure 
real  assimilation  of  a  system  of  psychology:  the  second  aim 
is  to  develop  skill  in  observing  and  in  interpreting  the  mental 
phenomena  of  daily  life  in  terms  of  this  assimilated  knowledge. 

14.  The  present  report  sheds  little  light  upon  the  success 
achieved  in  normal-school  psychology,  save  that  it  reveals  a 
consensus  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  the  teachers  of  psychology 
that  the  general  aim  just  mentioned  is  attained.  An  investi¬ 
gating  committee  might  conceivably  find  it  worth  while  to 
collect  evidence  from  normal-school  graduates  in  the  field 
as  to  the  manner  and  degree  in  which  psychology  has  benefited 
them. 

15.  In  studying  the  distribution  of  time  to  the  subject- 
matter  of  psychology,  we  find  that  there  is  scarcely  any  topic 
or  phase  of  psychology  that  does  not  seem  to  receive  relatively 
too  much  attention  in  some  normal  schools  and  too  little  in 
others.  But  it  is  probably  more  nearly  true  of  psychology 
than  of  any  other  normal-school  subject  that  no  two  teachers 
or  text-book  writers  would  agree  upon  the  distribution  of  time 
and  emphasis.  The  writer’s  own  judgment  would  be  some¬ 
what  as  follows:  (i)  that  special  consideration  should  be  given 
to  instinct,  attention  and  interest,  habit,  the  process  of  learn¬ 
ing,  associative  and  organizing  activities,  including  memory, 
concept-forming,  judging  (apperception),  (2)  that  a  moderate 
amount  of  consideration  should  be  given  to  sensation  and  the 
sense-organs,  the  general  organization  and  operation  of  the 

'  nervous  system,  the  psychology  of  action,  and  the  psychology 
of  individual  differences  (with  reference  to  the  inheritance  of 
capacities),  and  (3)  that  only  occasional  or  brief  reference 
should  be  made  to  philosophical  problems,  affection,  feeling, 
emotion,  reflex  action,  space-perception,  animal  psychology, 
sleep,  dreams,  hypnotism,  fatigue,  and  mental  hygiene. 

But  any  such  advisory  list,  unsupported  by  reasons,  must 
of  necessity  appear  personal  and  arbitrary.  Again,  it  is  to 


34 


GVY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


be  noted  that  the  very  idea  of  classifying  and  ‘pigeon-holing’ 
mental  experience  is  repugnant  to  some  teachers,  who,  either 
because  the  notion  of  a  ‘system’  implies  for  them  something 
formal,  ‘cut-and-dried,’  and  arbitrary,  or  because  mental  life 
impresses  them  as  being  essentially  unitary,  prefer  to  study 
behavior  in  wholes,  directly,  and  in  concrete  situations,  or 
at  least  to  avoid  what  they  term  the  disjecta  membra  (sensa¬ 
tion,  imagination,  memory,  etc.)  of  the  psychological  texts. 

I  have  already  expressed  my  conviction  that  the  use  of  a  system  is 
essential  in  the  teaching  of  psychology,  if  the  best  results  are  to  be  secured. 
In  support  of  this  position,  it  may  be  said:  (i)  that  practically  every  ade¬ 
quate  text-book  is  cast  in  the  form,  and  uses  the  terminology  of  a  system; 
(2)  that  it  is  impossible  for  a  teacher  who  knows  psychology  not  to  think 
this  psychology  in  terms  of  a  system;  (3)  that  a  system  is  of  the  highest 
value  to  the  student  in  enabling  him  to  comprehend  and  especially  to 
relate  and  organize  his  observations  and  information;  (4)  that  an  intelli¬ 
gent  student  will  inevitably  organize  his  information  into  some  system, 
and  this  system  will  almost  inevitably  be  inadequate  and  incorrect  if 
he  is  left  to  his  own  devices;  (5)  that  a  system  serves  to  reveal  the  ‘gaps’ 
in  our  knowledge;  it  is  worth  while  ‘knowing  what  we  don’t  know;’  (6) 
that  the  special  objection  to  system  in  psychology  (that  the  several  class- 
ificatory  terms  are  interpreted  by  the  student  as  entities  and  as  isolated 
elements  of  mind,  so  that  his  whole  notion  of  mental  life  is  distorted  and 
erroneous),  is  an  objection  that  must,  and  may  be  met  by  careful  instruc¬ 
tion  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  It  is  quite  possible,  for  instance,  to  avoid 
the  “maelstrom  of  faculty  psychology,”  as  one  writer  phrases  it,  if  mem¬ 
ory,  imagination,  perception,  etc.,  are  treated  as  typical  ways  in  which 
mind  may  be  found  at  work,  and  if  the  inter-relations  of  these  and  other 
types  of  activity  are  frequently  and  clearly  set  forth, — if,  for  example, 
‘  memory’  is  shown  to  be  a  name  for  a  type  of  mental  attitude  or  activity 
that  is  already  familiar  to  the  student  through  his  study  of  organic  plas¬ 
ticity,  retention,  habit,  associative  tendencies,  ‘centrally-excited  sensa¬ 
tions,’  etc. 

16.  Every  normal  school  should  offer  a  specific  course  in 
school  hygiene.  The  testing  of  the  senses  for  practical  pur¬ 
poses,  the  hygiene  of  study,  fatigue,  and  allied  topics  should 
be  placed  in  this  course. 

17.  While,  for  normal-school  use,  some  future  text-hook 
may  improve  upon  those  now  in  the  market,  many  teachers 
apparently  fail  to  select  the  best  texts  now  available,  or  to  use 
them  with  skill  when  they  are  selected.  Again,  it  may  as 
well  be  admitted  that,  for  some  students,  psychology  is  intrin¬ 
sically  difficult,  and  that  psychology  is  necessarily  more  com- 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


35 


plex  than  other  normal-school  subjects,  so  that  any  text-book 
that  treats  the  subject  adequately  will  be  difficult  for  these 
students. 

1 8.  Less  reliance  should  be  placed  upon  the  text-book  and 
more  upon  the  teacher’s  expository  talks  or  lectures  than  is 
at  present  the  custom  in  the  typical  normal  school.  This 
procedure  will  render  the  text-book  less  of  a  stumbling-block 
than  it  seems  now  to  be,  and  will  enable  the  students  to  make 
more  rapid  progress:  it  will  thus  save  some  of  the  time  that 
many  teachers  find  insufficient. 

19.  It  should  be  possible  in  any  ordinary  institution  to 
arrange  that  all  studying  be  done  outside  the  classroom. 

20.  The  normal-school  teacher  should  enrich  his  course 
by  the  introduction  of  more  demonstration-experiments ,  espec¬ 
ially  demonstrations  of  the  more  strictly  psychological  princi¬ 
ples.  The  Committee  contemplated  in  Proposition  2  might 
profitably  collect  or  prepare  a  list  of  recommended  demon¬ 
strations. 

21.  Class-discussions  should  be  carefully  directed,  and 
probably  less  freely  employed  than  is  now  the  custom.  These 
exercises  are  not  an  end  in  themselves,  but  a  means  of  teach¬ 
ing  psychology.  To  stimulate  the  active  interest  of  imma¬ 
ture  students  and  to  detect  and  avoid  misunderstandings  of 
the  text-book,  they  have  unquestioned  value,  but,  in  pedagogy 
as  elsewhere,  there  can  be  “  too  much  of  a  good  thing.  ”  Who 
has  not  seen  'class-discussions’  degenerate  into  aimless  anec¬ 
dote  or  blind  dispute  over  topics  that  might  have  been  pre¬ 
sented  by  the  teacher  in  a  few  minutes  of  clean-cut  exposition, 
to  the  gain  of  the  pupils  in  intelligent  grasp  of  the  points  at 
issue?  Normal-school  teachers  who  find  the  time  too  short 
to  teach  psychology  may  well  consider  whether  a  portion  of 
the  time  that  they  now  devote  to  class-discussion  might  not 
be  employed  more  profitably  in  other  and  more  direct  methods 
of  instruction.^ 

^  To  take  an  extreme  illustration,  I  heard  recently  of  a  young  teacher  who  was  so 
impressed  with  the  virtues  of  the  inductive  method  that  he  used  this  mode  of  procedure 
almost  exclusively  in  his  class  in  psychology,  with  the  result  that  at  the  end  of  the  term 
the  class  had  completed  the  survey  of  the  field  of  sensation.  This  class  even  held, 
'discussions’  of  the  structure  of  the  central  nervous  system. 


36 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


22.  Formal  dictation  is  out  of  place  in  normal-school  psy¬ 
chology,  save  for  occasional  and  special  purposes,  e.g.,  the 
dictation  of  a  few  important  definitions,  of  summaries,  etc. 

22.  Exercises  demanding  introspection  are  of  fundamental 
value  in  any  course  in  general  or  educational  psychology. 
The  normal-school  teacher,  like  the  college  instructor,  must 
lead  his  pupils  to  ‘psychologize,’  to  the  end  that  the  mental 
operations  of  which  psychology  treats  shall  be  realities  and 
not  mere  empty  verbal  assertions.^  The  formulation  of  a 
series  of  introspective  exercises  should  receive  careful  and 
intelligent  consideration  by  the  teacher.  Suggestions  are  to 
be  found  in  many  texts  .  The  Committee  already  mentioned 
might  again  be  of  assistance  in  this  connection. 

24.  Observation-work  is  of  special  value  in  making  the 
operation  of  the  salient  principles  of  educational  psychology 
visible  to  the  normal-school  student.  If  the  work  be  properly 
articulated,  courses  in  psychology  and  in  special  method  ought 
to  play  into  one  another’s  hands  through  the  medium  of 
observation  and  practise-teaching.  If  observation-work  can 
be  arranged  concomitant  with  the  work  in  psychology,  so 
much  the  better,  but,  even  so,  the  value  of  the  observation 
will  be  largely  lost  if  it  is  not  both  systematized  and  super¬ 
vised  by  the  teacher  of  psychology:  the  novice  in  psychology 
fails  to  see  psychology  in  application  until  he  is  told  where  to 
look. 2 

25.  The  assignment  of  outside  reading  is  another  device  of 
value;  but  this,  too,  demands  careful  supervision.  The  diffi¬ 
culties  are  evident:  students  dislike  to  read  the  same  thing  in 
several  different  books;  still  more  do  they  dislike  to  read 
apparently  conflicting  statements  or  to  encounter  unfamiliar 
terminology.  If  written  reports  are  demanded,  these  take 

^  It  is  the  writer’s  experience  that  it  is  always  the  student  who  cannot,  or  will  not 
get  the  introspective  habit,  who  falls  back  upon  the  verbal  reproduction  of  text  or  lec¬ 
ture-material  as  the  real  content  of  the  course,  and  that  it  is  nearly  always  this  student 
who  finds  psychology  “  too  abstract,”  and  who  runs  perilously  near,  if  not  over,  the 
danger-mark  in  the  final  examination. 

^  The  writer  has  found,  for  example,  that  the  use  of  a  printed  “Guide  to  Observa¬ 
tion”  very  greatly  increases  the  value  to  college  students  of  the  20-hours  of  high-school 
observation  required  for  the  New  York  State  College  Graduate  Certificate. 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


37 


much  time  both  from  student  and  teacher:  if  they  are  not 
demanded,  the  reading  is  likely  to  be  hurried  and  thus  to  be 
of  little  permanent  value.  Again,  if  the  class  be  large  and 
the  assignments  numerous,  the  library  is  taxed  to  supply 
numerous  copies  of  certain  books  and  may  thus  be  unable  to 
purchase  others  that  are  much  needed.  Many  students,  in 
our  experience,  have  almost  literally  to  be  taught  to  read 
intelligently.  Yet,  as  the  reports  show,  outside  reading  is, 
on  the  whole,  a  valued  and  a  valuable  adjunct:  it  helps  par¬ 
ticularly  to  overcome  the  limitations  felt  to  inhere  in  the 
'single  text-book’  plan. 

26.  If  lectures  are  given,  as  we  think  they  should  be,  they 
may  be  profitably  accompanied  by  a  printed  or  mimeographed 
outline  or  syllabus,  This  plan  helps  the  student  to  follow  the 
lectures  (or  to  read  the  texts)  intelligently,  gives  him  a 
general  perspective  of  the  course,  and  compels  the  instructor 
to  arrange  his  material  in  orderly  fashion. 

27.  Whether  or  not  lectures  are  given,  the  assimilation  of 
the  work  in  psychology  will  be  distinctly  facilitated  by  the 
use  of  lists  of  questions,  preferably  printed  andsupplied  to  each 
student.  These  questions  must,  in  the  main,  avoid  a  form 
that  admits  of  answer  by  direct  reference  to  the  text-book, 
and  should  seek,  rather,  to  develop  introspection,  observation 
and  thought:  in  short,  they  should  test  the  student’s  ability 
to  apply  his  psychology.^ 

28.  The  oral  recitation  of  the  examining  type  (quiz  on  the 
text)  is  probably  a  necessary  feature  of  normal-school  work, 
but  the  teacher  should  not  employ  it  further  than  conditions 
demand.  Like  class  discussions,  it  may  be  made  a  fetich.  It 
is  a  time-consuming  operation,  more  needed  in  instruction  on 
the  public-school  than  on  the  professional  level.  The  reci¬ 
tation  when  used  for  development- work  has,  of  course,  greater 
value,  expecially  in  the  hands  of  a  skillful  teacher. 

1  If  I  may  be  permitted  once  more  to  refer  to  my  personal  experience,  I  may  state  that 
I  have  found  a  printed  list  of  questions,  when  properly  classified  and  supplied  with 
references  to  a  number  of  texts,  to  be  of  great  assistance  to  college  students  in  checking 
up  their  progress  in  psychology.  Such  a  quiz-list  is  equally  useful  for  review  or  for 
advanced  assignment:  in  either  case  it  guides  the  student  in  his  study,  shows  him  what 
he  should  knowq  and  compels  his  active  thought  and  attention. 


38 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


29.  In  general,  the  normal-school  teacher,  owing  to  the 
conditions  under  which  he  works,  must  search  for,  and  use  as 
skillfully  as  he  may,  all  the  devices  of  presentation  that  can 
further  his  aims.  Notebooks,  personal  appointments,  debates, 
psychological  clubs,  charts,  diagrams,  etc.,  are  schemes  that 
will  occur  to  all  teachers.  It  would  be  absurd  to  attempt  to 
prescribe  in  detail  which  of  these  aids  should  be  used,  and  to 
what  extent,  since  it  is  a  matter  of  common  observation  that 
every  teacher  works  best  by  the  methods  that  he  himself 
devises,  or  in  which  he  himself  most  thoroughly  believes,  and 
that  a  skillful  teacher  often  achieves  his  success  by  a  method 
that  a  poor  teacher  employs  in  vain. 

30.  The  problem  of  the  introduction  of  experimental  psy¬ 
chology  ^  or  of  laboratory  courses,  is  the  most  perplexing  one 
that  confronts  the  normal-school  teacher.  Various  reasons 
may  be  adduced  for  the  introduction  of  such  courses:  the  seven 
that  follow  are,  of  course,  not  exhaustive  or  mutually  exclusive: 
(i)  to  illuminate  and  illustrate  the  subject-matter  of  the  gen¬ 
eral  course  in  psychology,  (2)  to  add  a  certain  attractiveness 
to  the  work  in  psychology,  (3)  to  make  clearer  to  students  the 
methods  by  which  modern  psychology  has  been  elaborated,  (4) 
to  give  training  in  scientific  procedure  and  acquaintance  with 
the  spirit  and  method  of  experimental  investigation  in  science, 
(5)  to  train  a  limited  number  of  advanced  students  to  parti¬ 
cipate  in  minor  pieces  of  research  work  in  the  institution,  (6) 
to  prepare  students  to  appreciate  and  to  participate  in  experi¬ 
mental  pedagogy  (as  distinct  from  experimental  psychology), 
(7)  to  train  students  in  making  examinations  and  tests  of 
children  in  the  classroom  (particularly  various  forms  of  mental 
and  physical  tests,  diagnostic  of  retardation,  sensory  handicap, 
etc.) 

We  have  seen  that,  as  matters  stand,  experimental  psychol¬ 
ogy  is  not  a  feature  of  the  typical  normal-school  curriculum, 
but  that  a  considerable  number  of  teachers  wish  to  incor¬ 
porate  such  work.  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  serious 
attention  has  been  paid  by  many  of  these  teachers  to  the 
reasons  for  this  introduction,  since  the  experiments  that  are 
already  in  use  appear  to  have  been  selected,  not  so  much 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


39 


because  they  bear  upon  educational  psychology,  as  because 
they  are  stock  experiments  in  the  psychological  laboratory. 
I  yield  to  no  one  in  my  love  for  research  work  in  psychology, 
in  my  belief  that  a  drill-course  in  experimental  psychology 
has  large  possibilities  of  culture-value,  or  in  my  conviction 
that  the  experimental  method  must  be  applied  to  educational 
problems  before  these  can  be  solved,  but  I  do  not  on  this 
account  believe  that  every  kind  of  experimental  work  in 
psychology  that  is  given  in  college  classes  can  be  offered  with 
equal  success  or  justification  in  the  normal  school.  I  see  no 
reason,  for  example,  why  every  prospective  teacher  should 
work  out  the  constants  for  Weber’s  Law,  or  investigate  the 
localization  of  sound,  or  try  to  measure  fatigue  on  the  ergo- 
graph,  although  these  are  perfectly  legitimate  and  regular 
features  of  experimentation  in  the  college  laboratory. 

For  these  reasons  it  seems  to  me  that  the  present  experimental  work  in 
the  normal  schools  shows  faulty  perspective.  Take,  for  example,  two  of 
the  most  used  demonstration-experiments— the  ergograph  and  the  reac¬ 
tion-time  test.  These  have  the  merit  of  being  ‘showy,’  but  it  would  be 
hard  to  select  another  pair  of  experiments  that  would  be  more  complex 
and  ‘  tricky’  in  their  real  meaning  and  interpretation.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  central  feature  of  educational  psychology, — assuredly  the  process  of 
learning — is  not  mentioned  specifically  in  the  list  of  demonstrations, 
although  it  may  be  covered  in  part  by  experiments  in  memory  or  apper¬ 
ception.  Again,  the  demonstration  of  reliable  tests  of  vision  and  hearing 
— tests  which,  in  the  absence  of  special  courses  in  hygiene,  demand  treat¬ 
ment  as  a  phase  of  ‘  mental  hygiene’  in  the  normal-school  course — is  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  list  of  but  a  single  institution. 

I  contend  (i)  that  the  teacher  of  psychology  should  be 
drilled  in  laboratory  methods  and  practice,  and  that  he 
should  endeavor  to  keep  himself  informed  of  the  progress  of 
experimental  psychology  at  large,  (2)  that  a  selected  number 
of  experiments,  mainly  illustrative  of  the  more  important 
principles  of  mental  elaboration,  should  be  presented  to 
students  in  the  general  course  in  psychology  at  a  special  period 
and  in  a  special  room  set  apart  for  the  purpose,  (3)  that  in 
institutions  offering  more  than  a  two-year  course,  a  more 
systematic  course  in  experimental  work  including,  the  solu¬ 
tion  of  simple  psycho-educational  problems,  should  be  given 
as  an  elective  to  advanced  students,  and  (4)  that  those  stu- 


40 


GUY  MONTROSE  WHIPPLE 


dents  who  display  exceptional  ability  in  experimental  work 
should  be  encouraged  to  seek  further  instruction  in  depart¬ 
ments  of  psychology  and  education  in  the  university. 

31.  In  the  absence  of  any  exercise-book  or  manual  specially 
prepared  to  guide  experimental  work  in  normal  schools,  the 
teacher  must  adopt  an  eclectic  plan.  The  laboratory  and 
library  should,  accordingly,  be  supplied  with  copies  of  all  the 
texts  in  experimental  psychology.  That  normal-school  teach¬ 
ers  would  welcome  suggestions  as  to  the  best  selection  of 
experimental  problems  has  already  been  pointed  out. 

32.  The  equipment  of  the  normal-school  laboratory  for  the 
prosecution  of  such  work  as  has  just  been  proposed  need  not  of 
necessity  be  expensive.  For  an  original  outlay  of  from  $200 
to  $750  the  beginning  of  an  experimental  course  can  be  secured: 
for  maintenance  and  further  extension  a  yearly  appropriation 
of  $50  to  $100  would,  perhaps,  suffice.^ 


1  The  practical  working  out  of  the  principles  of  general  laboratory  economy,  like 
the  successful  application  of  methods  of  instruction,  hinges  in  the  last  resort  upon  the 
teacher.  A  skilled  psychologist  can  give  an  instructive  demonstration  with  such  homely 
materials  as  colored  paper,  strings,  scissors,  and  cardboard,  when  the  neophyte  would 
be  helpless  without  his  kymograph,  his  electric  motor,  and  his  other  “brass-ware.” 
This  is  not  to  be  construed,  however,  to  discourage  elaborate  equipment,  or  to  applaud 
a  policy  of  parsimony  on  the  part  of  normal-school  authorities.  The  skilled  psycholo¬ 
gist  welcomes  a  good  color-mixer,  too. 

If  advanced  or  original  work  is  attempted,  then,  of  course,  instruments  of  precision 
become  imperative.  In  working  up  an  educational  laboratory  for  research  and  demon¬ 
stration-work  at  Cornell  University,  approximately  $2000  has  been  invested  during 
the  past  eight  years,  while  the  yearly  maintenance  appropriation  averages  about  $100. 
An  inventory  of  this  equipment  will  be  published  in  the  Journal  of  Educational 
Psychology  within  a  few  months  in  the  hope  that  it  may  offer  some  suggestions  to 
those  who  are  developing  experimental  work  in  the  normal  school. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  ELEMENTARY  PSYCHOLOGY 
IN  COLLEGES  SUPPOSED  TO  HAVE  NO  LAB¬ 
ORATORY. 

By  Mary  Whiton  Calkins. 

Wellesley  College. 

The  first  part  of  the  report  herewith  submitted  summarizes 
the  replies  to  a  questionary  sent  out  to  8o  colleges  and  uni¬ 
versities.  Replies  complete  enough  for  use  were  received 
from  47  institutions.^  It  appears  from  these  statements 
that  the  elementary  course  as  given  in  the  average  college  is 
usually  a  required  course,  more  often  running  less  than  a  year, 
and  often,  though  not  always,  meeting  in  large  divisions. 
The  course  tends  to  be  taken  mainly  by  juniors  but  in  con¬ 
siderable  number  also  by  seniors  on  the  one  hand  and  by 
sophomores  on  the  other.  It  is  conducted  partly  by  lectures 
and  partly  by  discussions  or  recitations.  The  students  make 
use  of  a  text-book  but  their  study  of  it  is  supplemented  in 
various  ways.  • 

The  replies  to  the  questionary  are  summarized  in  more 
detail  in  the  statements  which  follow;  and  these  are  condensed 
from  verified  tables  compiled  by  Professor  E.  A.  McC.  Gam¬ 
ble. ^  The  replies  concern: 

^  The  list  is  the  following:  Amherst,  Bates,  Bethany,  Boston,  Bowdoin,  Brenau, 
Butler,  Colgate,  Colorado  College,  Columbia  College  (South  Carolina),  Dalhousie, 
Des Moines,  Dickinson, Elmira,  Fayette  (Upper  Iowa),  Georgia,  Georgetown,  Grinnell, 
Haverford,  Knox,  Maine,  Marietta,  Mercer,  Middlebury,  Morningside,  College  of 
City  of  New  York,  New  York  Normal  College,  Oberlin,  Ohio  University,  Penn.  State, 
Randolph-Macon,  Ripon,  Rochester,  Rutgers,  Simmons,  Swarthmore,  Tennessee,  Texas, 
Toronto,  Trinity,  Tufts,  Union,  Vermont,  Virginia,  Wabash,  Wells,  West  Virginia. 

2  To  Dr.  Gamble  and  to  Miss.  S.  J.  Woodward,  who  assisted  her,  my  warm  thanks  are 
due. 


42 


MARY  WniTON  CALKINS 


I.  The  Academic  Status  of  the  Course  {47  cases). 


The  course  is 

(a)  Required,  absolutely:  Cases .  30 

Elective  absolutely:  Cases .  n 

Part  of  a  group  in  which  a  given  number  of  hours  must  be 

taken:  Cases .  5 

Prerequisite  to  pedagogy  (which  is  largely  elected) :  Cases  . .  i 

(b)  Prerequisite  to  other  courses  in  psychology:  Cases .  23 

Not  a  prerequisite  to  such  courses:  Cases .  6 

No  other  courses  (or  no  answer):  Cases .  18 


(c) 


Prerequisite  to  all  or  any  courses  in 

philosophy:  Cases  . 29 

Prerequisites  to  all  or  any  courses  in 

education :  Cases . 20 

Prerequisite  to  all  or  any  courses  in 

sociology:  Cases . 2 

Not  a  prerequisite:  Cases . 8 

No  answer:  Cases  . 5. 


^  Separate  Cases 


34 


II.  The  Length  of  the  Course. 


ONE  TERM 

ONE  SEMESTER 

TWO  TERMS 

ONE  YEAR 

ONE-QUARTER 

NO  DEFINITE 
ANSWER 

TOTAL 

HOURS  PER  WEEK 

3 

4 

5 

3 

4 

2 

3 

4 

5 

2 

3 

6 

? 

? 

Cases . 

3 

2 

1 

2  j  14 

s 

I 

3 

2 

I 

4 

6 

I 

I 

I 

I 

47 

III.  The  College  Rank  of  the  Students  in  the  Course  {47  Cases). 


The  course  is  open 

To  seniors  only:  Cases  .  4 

To  juniors,  or  to  seniors  and  juniors:  Cases .  23 

To  seniors,  juniors  and  sophomores:  Cases .  10 

To  sophomores,  or  to  sophomores  and  freshmen:  Cases .  6 

Without  restriction:  Cases .  i 

No  definite  answer:  Cases .  3 


IV.  The  Numbers  in  the  Course. 

The  course  varies  in  number  from  less  than  10  (in  i  case  only)  to  201- 
300  (in  2  cases).  In  only  4  cases  (out  of  28)  in  which  courses  number 
60  or  less  are  the  classes  broken  into  divisions.  In  i  case,  a  course  num- 


COLLEGES  WITHOUT  LABORATORIES 


43 


bering  200-300  is  undivided.  Of  12  courses  numbering  more  than  60, 
5  are  divided  into  5  divisions  each,  4  into  2  divisions  each:  while  one 
class  of  201-300  meets  in  8  groups. 

V.  The  Rank  and  Work  of  the  Teacher  (47  Cases). 


The  course  is  taught 

By  the  president  (who  teaches  philosophy  also) :  Cases .  i 

By  a  professor,  teaching 

Psychology  only:  Cases  .  i 

Philosophy  also:  Cases  .  15 

Education  also:  Cases .  i 

Both  philosophy  and  education  also:  Cases .  ii 

Miscellaneous  subjects:  Cases  .  2 

(No  answer  concerning  other  subjects) .  2 

By  an  instructor  teaching 

Philosophy  also:  Cases  .  2 

Education  also:  Cases .  2 

By  one  man  with  assistants,  all  teaching 

Psychology  only:  Cases  .  i 

Philosophy  also:  Cases  .  2 

Other  cases  (and  question  unanswered) :  Cases .  5 


The  statements  which  follow  are  contrasted  with  those  which  precede 
in  that  they  concern  not  so  much  the  academic  status,  student- rank,  and 
numbers  but  the  avowed  aims  and  methods  of  the  elementary  course  in 
psychology.  Part  II  of  this  paper  takes  special  account  of  these  results. 


VI.  The  Emphasis  of  the  Course  {40  Cases.  No  reply  in  7  Cases). 


EMPHASIS  ON 

PREDOMINANT 

AND  GREAT 

MODERATE 

LITTLE  OR 
NONE 

Introspection . 

20 

17 

3 

Physiology . 

II 

18 

II 

Biology . 

3 

21 

16 

Practical  Applications  of  psychology  . 

12 

18 

10 

Philosophy . 

2 

IS 

23 

VII.  The  General  Method  of  the  Course  (47  Cases). 


(a)  Predominantly  by  lectures:  Cases .  8 

Predominantly  by  class  exercise:  Cases .  24 

A  fairly  even  mixture  of  the  two  methods:  Cases .  10 

No  definite  answer:  Cases .  S 

{h)  Recitation  required  (31  replies). 

To  a  considerable  extent:  Cases .  20 

To  some  extent  only:  Cases .  ii 


44 


MARY  WEITON  CALKINS 


VIII.  The  Method  of  Introducing  a  Subject  (4^  Cases). 


By  assignment  of  reading  in  textbook:  Cases . 23 

By  lecture:  Cases .  8 

By  questions  demanding  introspection:  Cases .  5 

No  definite  answer:  Cases .  ii 

IX.  Details  of  Method  {Cases  47,  not  exclusive). 

A  textbook  is  used:  Cases  .  40 

Outlines  are  used:  Cases .  23 

Review  questions  are  used:  Cases .  19 

Collateral  reading  is  assigned:  Cases .  28 


(In  10  of  these  cases  the  extent  of  the  reading  is  “considerable.”) 
A".  The  Use  of  Experiment  {Cases  47). 


{a)  Real  laboratory  work  .  7 

(In  3  of  these  cases  the  laboratory  work  is  “important;”  in  2 
others  it  is  supplemented  by  out-of  class  experimenting.) 

{d)  Directed  experiments  outside  the  laboratory;  Cases . 18 

(In  9  of  these  cases  in  the  experimenting  is  “important.”) 

No  experimental  work  (so  far  as  indicated):  Cases .  22 

(c)  Use  by  the  lecturer  of 

Demonstration  experiments;  Cases  .  16 

Physiological  material:  Cases .  17 


If  we  suppose  that  an  inquiry  similar  to  this  had  been  con¬ 
ducted  twenty-five  years  ago  and  if  we  compare  its  hypo¬ 
thetical  results  with  our  own  figures,  the  outlook  will  be 
mainly  encouraging.  The  course  in  psychology  has  been 
pushed  backward  from  the  senior  year  so  that  a  student  can 
apply  his  psychology  in  his  further  college  study.  The 
course  is  no  longer  taught  by  the  college  president  in  the 
intervals  of  administrative  duty,  nor  as  a  secondary  occupa¬ 
tion  by  the  teacher  of  radically  different  subjects;  and  psy¬ 
chology  has  been  freed  from  its  entangling  alliance  with 
philosophy.  On  all  sides,  also,  we  find  evidences  ofvigorous 
and  individual  teaching. 

Our  results  are  however,  of  chief  importance  in  so  far  as 
they  make  clearer  and  more  vivid  our  conception  of  the  true 
aim  and  of  the  right  methods  of  the  elementary  course  in  psy¬ 
chology.  In  the  paragraphs  which  follow  I  have  ventured  to 
formulate  the  results  of  my  own  experience  and  observation. 


COLLEGES  WITHOUT  LABORATORIES 


45 


noting  at  various  points  the  relation  of  these  suggestions  to 
the  actual  procedure  already  described.  My  recommenda¬ 
tions  have  reference  to  the  general  course  in  psychology 
regarded  as  introductory  not  only  (and  not  chiefly)  to  more 
advanced  courses  in  psychology,  but  to  courses  in  philosophy, 
in  education,  and  in  other  subjects.  In  but  one  respect,  I 
believe,  may  such  a  course  differ  from  that  elementary  course 
which  is  planned  to  introduce  the  student  to  further  psychol¬ 
ogy;  the  more  general  introduction-course  may  run  through 
a  semester  rather  than  through  a  year.  Without  doubt  the 
full  year  course  treats  the  subject  more  adequately.  Yet 
precisely  because  of  the  fundamental  nature  of  psychology, 
it  forms  an  important  member  of  every  group  of  studies, 
literary  as  well  as  scientific  or  philosophical.  And  in  many 
institutions  psychology  can  hold  this  central  position  only 
if  it  be  offered  as  a  semester  course.  In  the  opinion  of  the 
writer,  such  a  course  can  be  given  without  prejudice  to 
scholarship  by  a  teacher  who  keeps  pace  with  his  science,  who 
distinguishes  essential  from  accidental,  who  systematizes  his 
material,  and  who  never  lowers  his  standards  of  accuracy. 

With  this  introduction  I  offer  four  more  or  less  obvious 
recommendations : 

I .  Psychology  is  psychology  whatever  the  use  to  be  made 
of  it.  First  courses  in  psychology  should  therefore  be  essen¬ 
tially  the  same  in  content  and  in  method,  whether  they  intro¬ 
duce  the  student  to  advanced  work  in  psychology  or  to  the 
different  problems  of  pedagogy,  of  ethics,  or  of  metaphysics, 
the  immediate  purpose  of  every  course  in  psychology  is  to 
make  the  student  expert  in  the  study  of  himself :  to  lead  him 
to  isolate,  to  analyze,  to  classify,  and  (in  the  scientific,  not  in 
the  metaphysical  sense)  to  explain  his  own  perceiving,  remem¬ 
bering,  thinking,  feeling,  and  willing.  In  the  effort  to  classify 
and  to  explain,  the  student  will  of  course  attack  the  relevant 
facts  of  sense  physiology  and  of  bodily  behavior  He  will 
study  these  however  as  conditions  and  accompaniments  of 
consciousness.  Psychology  is  nothing  less  than  such  a  study 
of  selves — and  primarily  of  one’s  own  self — in  relation  to  the 
environment,  personal  and  impersonal;  and,  conversely,  any- 


46 


MARY  WHITON  CALKINS 


thing  more  than  this  though  it  may  be  related  to  psychology, 
is  not  psychology.  If  we  are  in  earnest  in  the  belief  that 
psychology  is  an  important,  indeed,  an  essential  introduction 
to  the  disciplines  already  named,  we  must  mean  by  the  term — 
psychology,  and  not  a  conglomerate  of  which  a  dilute  psy¬ 
chology  is  one  component  only.  Whatever  is  necessary  to 
the  study  of  psychology  for  itself  is  necessary,  therefore,  to 
the  first  course  in  psychology  as  introductory  to  other  sub¬ 
jects.  As  has  appeared,  this  does  not  mean,  that  the  two 
courses  need  be  equally  long  and  equally  detailed.  In  par¬ 
ticular,  laboratory  experiments  will  probably,  for  reasons  of 
time  and  convenience,  be  barred  out  of  the  general  course. 
Yet  it  has,  I  think,  been  shown  that  individual  experiment  as 
well  as  demonstration  may  advantageously  be  introduced. 
And,  on  the  negative  side,  the  utmost  pains  should  be  taken 
not  to  encourage  applications  of  psychology  at  the  expense 
of  the  psychology  to  be  applied.  The  bearing  of  psychology 
on  practical  problems  of  every  day  living  and  of  pedagogy 
may  most  advantageously  be  emphasized  by  the  instructor; 
but  the  applications  should  follow  upon  analytic  study.  Not 
only  the  purposes  of  scholarship  but  the  practical  aims  them¬ 
selves  are  thwarted  by  the  tendency  to  form  conclusions  for 
the  sake  of  applying  them. 

The  last  paragraph  has  made  reference  to  the  relation  of 
psychology  to  ethics  and  to  pedagogy.  I  wish  to  say  a 
special  word  of  its  relation  to  philosophy.  In  my  opinion  the 
teacher  of  philosophy  should  connect  the  study,  constantly, 
with  psychology;  whereas  the  teacher  of  psychology  should 
exclude  all  discussion  of  metaphysical  problems  insisting  on 
the  purely  scientific  study  of  consciousness.  He  should  bar 
out  discussions  of  materialism,  free  will,  and  the  like,  point¬ 
ing  out  that  psychology  is  compatible  with  any  one  of  the 
metaphysical  solutions  to  these  problems.  Only  by  such  a 
differentiation  of  the  science  of  psychology  from  philosophy 
can  we  rightly  study  the  former;  and  only  psychology  rightly 
studied  can  be  of  real  aid  to  philosophy.  An  indirect  support 
to  this  view  may  be  found  in  the  answer  to  the  questions  on 


COLLEGES  WITHOUT  LABORATORIES 


47 


the  “emphasis  of  the  first-year  course.”^  Of  the  40  instructors 
who  answer  this  question,  20  lay  ‘predominant’ or ‘great’ stress 
on  introspection  and  only  3  set  ‘little  or  no’  store  by  it; 
whereas  2  lay  ‘predominant’  and  10  ‘great’  stress  on  the 
applications  of  psychology,  and  10  pay  ‘little  or  no’  attention 
to  the  applications.  Only  two  instructors  emphasize  strong¬ 
ly  the  relation  of  psychology  to  philosophy  as  against  14  who 
lay  great  stress  on  physiological  explanation  and  biological 
relation.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  noted  that  the  courses 
of  these  different  colleges  concern  themselves  mainly  with 
the  problems  of  general  individual  psychology.  Only  5 
devote  ‘considerable  time’  to  comparative  psychology;  and 
only  2  to  abnormal  psychology. 

2.  The  second  group  of  my  conclusions  is  of  a  more  general 
nature.  The  class  in  psychology  should  not,  it  seems  to  me, 
he  conducted  by  means  of  'recitations,'  or  ‘quizzes,'  and  the 
student  should  more  often  take  part  in  discussion  than  listen 
to  lecture.  I  think  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  negative 
part  of  this  statement  is  sound.  A  teacher  has  not  the  right 
to  spend  any  considerable  part  of  the  time  of  a  class  in  finding 
out  by  oral  questions — “how  does  your  author  define  per¬ 
ception?’’  or  “what  are  the  laws  of  color  mixture?’’ — whether 
or  not  the  student  has  done  the  work  assigned  to  him.  The 
good  student  does  not  need  the  questions  and  is  bored  by  the 
stumbling  replies  which  he  hears;  and  even  the  poor  student 
does  not  get  what  he  needs,  which  is  either  instruction  a  deux, 
or  else  a  corrected  written  recitation. ^  One  is  often  reminded 
by  the  conventional  oral  recitation  of  the  little  boy’s  descrip¬ 
tion  of  his  first  day  at  school:  “An  old  woman  asked  me  how 
to  spell  ‘cat,’  and  I  told  her.’’  Not  in  this  futile  way  should 
the  instructor  squander  the  short  hours  spent  with  his  stu¬ 
dents.  The  purpose  of  these  hours  is  two-fold:  first,  to  give 
to  the  students  such  necessary  information  as  they  cannot 
gain,  or  cannot  so  expediently  gain,  in  some  other  way;  second, 
and  most  important,  to  incite  them  to  ‘  psychologize’  for  them- 

^  Cf.  Statement  VI.,  (p.  43  above). 

^  Of  39  instructors  who  reply  on  this  point  to  the  questionary,  35  make  use  of  this 
indispensable  method. 


4* 


MARY  WHITON  CALKINS 


selves.  The  first  of  these  purposes  is  best  gained  by  the 
lecture,  the  second  by  guided  discussion.  'Guided  discus¬ 
sion'  does  not  mean  a  reversal  of  the  recitation-process — an 
hour  in  which  students  ask  questions  in  any  order,  and  of  any 
degree  of  relevancy  and  seriousness,  which  the  instructor 
answers.  On  the  contrary,  the  instructor  initiates  and  leads 
the  discussion:  he  chooses  its  subject,  maps  out  its  field,  pulls 
it  back  when  it  threatens  to  transgress  its  bounds  and,  from 
time  to  time,  summarizes  its  results.  This  he  does,  however, 
with  the  least  possible  show  of  his  hand.  He  puts  his  ques¬ 
tion  and  leaves  it  to  the  student  interested  to  answer  him; 
he  restates  the  bungling  answer  and  the  confused  question; 
he  leaves  one  student  to  answer  the  difficulties  of  another. 
In  a  word,  he  takes  advantage  of  every  suggestion,  he  stimu¬ 
lates  and  trains  his  students  by  intelligent  question  and  swift 
reasoning,  he  subordinates  scattered  conclusions  to  the  ad¬ 
vancement  of  the  discussion  as  a  whole. 

The  advantage  of  the  discussion  over  the  lecture  is,  thus, 
that  it  fosters  in  the  student  the  active  attitude  of  the  thinker 
in  place  of  the  passive  attitude  of  the  listener.  For  this 
reason,  in  the  opinion- of  the  writer,  the  lecture  should  be 
used  mainly  as  introduction  and  as  summing  up  of  a  subject, 
not  as  chief  method.  A  study  of  the  answers  to  the  question¬ 
ary  seems  to  confirm  my  estimate  of  the  lecture  as  subsidiary 
method,  for  less  than  one-fifth  of  those  who  reply  to  this 
question  (8  of  42)  make  predominant  use  of  the  lecture.^ 
The  answers,  however,  are  either  non-committal  or  negative 
as  regards  the  far  more  important  question  of  the  relative 
merit  of  ‘discussion’  and  of  recitation.  It  is,  to  be  sure,  not 
easy  to  reduce  the  replies  to  common  terminology,  yet  20 
make  ‘considerable’  use  of  recitation  and  ii  more  make 
‘some’  use  of  it.  In  presenting  my  urgent  recommendation 
of  the  guided  class  discussion  which  is  neither  lecture  nor  reci¬ 
tation  I  have,  therefore,  no  right  to  claim  the  support  of  ‘  my 
constituents.’ 

In  this  connection  a  comment  should  be  made  on  the  size 


‘  Cf.  Statement  VII  (p.  69). 


COLLEGES  WITHOUT  LABORATORIES 


49 


of  classes.^  Obviously  it  is  simplest  to  teach  large  classes  by 
lecturing  to  them.  Yet  a  spirited  and  relevant  discussion 
may  be  conducted  in  a  class  of  a  hundred  or  so.  Of  course 
no  more  than  eight  or  twelve,  or,  at  most,  twenty  of  these  will 
take  even  a  small  part  on  a  given  day ;  perhaps  a  half  or  two- 
thirds  will  never  take  part;  and  some  will  remain  uninterested. 
But  there  will  be  many  intelligent  listeners  as  well  as  active 
participants;  and  these  gain  more,  I  believe,  by  the  give  and 
take  of  good  discussion  than  by  constant  lectures  however 
effective. 

For  the  benefit,  however,  of  large  classes  I  am  convinced 
that  careful  provision  for  more  individual  instruction  should 
be  made.  It  goes  without  saying  that  students  with  special 
questions  and  difficulties  should  be  welcomed  in  private  con¬ 
sultation  hours.  Yet  I  think  that  more  than  this  is  needed; 
and,  to  colleges  which  lack  the  means  to  establish  a  full  pre¬ 
ceptorial  system,  I  recommend  the  division  of  a  large  class 
into  small  weekly  divisions  or  conferences.  Such  conference 
divisions  may  take  the  place  of  one  weekly  appointment  of  the 
class  as  a  whole;  or,  better,  each  may  be  treated  as  a  laboratory 
hour  in  addition  to  the  regular  appointments.  The  time  of  the 
conferences  may  be  variously  used.  Students  disinclined  to 
join  in  discussion  in  a  large  group  will  express  their  difficulties; 
assigned  questions  may  be  answered  and  the  answers  dis¬ 
cussed;  written  review  papers  may  be  returned  with  com¬ 
ments  ;  physiological  models  and  preparations  may  be  examined 
by  each  student  of  these  smaller  groups;  and,  more  important 
perhaps  than  any  specific  result,  a  personal  contact  may  be 
established  between  teacher  and  student.  Obviously  the 
success  of  such  a  plan  depends  on  those  to  whom  the  con¬ 
ferences  are  entrusted.  Able  and  well-trained  assistants  may 
advantageously  conduct  most  of  them;  but  it  will  be  unfor¬ 
tunate  if  the  main  instructor  of  the  course  cannot  feel  the 
pulse  of  his  class  by  himself  conducting  one  or  two  of  these 
conferences.  And  it  is  essential  that  he  should  give  over¬ 
sight  to  the  conference  and  unity  to  the  work,  by  stated  meet- 


^  Cf.  Statement  IV  (p.  68) . 


MARY  WEITON  CALKINS 


SO 


ings  with  the  conference-instructors  and  discussions  of  con¬ 
ference  methods.  I  find  no  evidence  that  this  plan  has  as 
yet  been  adopted.  Indeed,  only  5  instructors  report  con¬ 
ferences  with  individual  students  (and  3  of  these  make  only 
‘occasional’  use  of  the  method.)  In  one  college,  however, 
a  class  of  60  meets  in  one  division  for  lectures  and  in  three 
divisions  for  ‘quizzes.’ 

3.  My  third  conclusion  is  closely  connected  with  what 
precedes.  It  is  absolutely  essential  that  the  course  in  psychology 
supplement  text-book  study  by  methods  intended  to  secure  the  inde¬ 
pendent  work  of  the  student.  To  require  of  the  student  merely 
to  give  back,  in  written  or  in  oral  form,  the  contents  of  a 
text-book  is  to  run  a  heavy  risk  of  missing  the  bull’s  eye  of 
the  course;  and  this,  we  have  ever  to  remember,  is  to  teach 
the  student  a  first  hand  study  of  himself  as  conscious.  I  am 
not  recommending  that  the  general  course  in  psychology  be 
conducted  without  a  text-book,  for  I  believe,  on  the  contrary, 
that  precisely  the  beginner  needs  the  aid  of  a  book  in  focus¬ 
sing  and  classifying  the  results  of  his  observation  and  reason¬ 
ing.  But  better  a  thousand  times  no  book  than  a  book  to 
be  memorized.  An  essential  means  to  the  proper  use  of  a 
text-book  is,  in  my  opinion,  to  forbid  or  discourage  its  use — 
and  to  forbear,  also,  to  lecture  on  a  new  topic — until  the 
student  has  dealt  for  himself  with  the  topic  of  study.  Thus, 
before,  entering  on  the  study  of  perception  and  imagination 
one  may  direct  the  student  to  ‘state  in  writing  the  difference 
between  perceiving  a  hat  (or  chair  or  vase)  which  is  seen  and 
imagining  a  similar  hat  (or  chair  or  vase)  which  is  not  in  the 
room.  Before  lecturing  on  the  individual  sense-types  of 
imagination  the  student  may  be  required  to  answer,  again  in 
writing,  Galton’s  questionary  or  some  one  of  those  modelled 
on  it.  Before  reading  or  listening  to  lectures  on  attention,  the 
student  may  answer  questions  such  as  these:  “What  is  the 
difference  between  attending  to  the  demonstration  of  a  geo¬ 
metrical  problem  and  attending  to  the  buzz  of  a  mosquito? 
What  bodily  marks  of  attention  have  you  noticed  in  a  dog?’’ 
It  is  unnecessary  to  multiply  examples.  The  essential  point 
is  that  the  student  be  led  to  observe  his  own  experience,  to 


COLLEGES  WITHOUT  LABORATORIES  51 

record  his  observation  accurately— in  a  word  to  psychologize ; 
and  to  make  the  observation  before,  not  after,  discovering 
from  book  or  from  lecture  what  answers  are  expected  to  these 
questions.  Individual  experiments  should  so  far  as  possible 
be  performed  in  like  manner  before  the  class  discussion  of 
typical  results.  In  all  cases  the  results  of  these  introspec¬ 
tions  should  be  recorded  in  writing;  representative 
records  should  be  read  and  commented  on  in  class;  and  the 
discussion  based  on  them  should  form  the  starting  point  for 
text  book  study  and  for  lecture. 

The  instructors  who  have  answered  the  questionary  evi¬ 
dently  concur  in  the  view  that  a  text-book  is  necessary :  only 
4  of  the  47  make  no  use  of  one.^  But  23  of  the  40  who  have 
a  text-book  make,  as  I  believe,  a  radically  wrong  use  of  it 
since  they  introduce  each  topic  by  assigned  reading  in  the 
book.  Of  the  remaining,  8  instructors  Introduce  each  sub¬ 
ject  by  lecture  and  only  5  by  what  I  hold  to  be  the  right 
method — some  exercise  in  introspection,  whether  simple  or 
experimental. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  almost  all  these  college  courses  text¬ 
book  study  is  supplemented  in  other  ways :  collateral  reading  is 
required  in  28  cases,  review  questions  are  assigned  by  19 
instructors,  experiments  are  performed  or  required  in  25 
cases. 2  All  these  methods  have  their  value.  Collateral  read¬ 
ing  is  useful  first  in  that  it  protects  the  student  from  the 
dogmatism  or  one-sidedness  of  his  teacher  or  of  his  author  or 
of  both;  second,  in  that  it  offers  an  opportunity  to  enlarge  his 
field  of  observation.  The  student  is  no  longer  a  man  of  one 
book,  and  can  not  fall  into  the  error  of  regarding  psychology 
as  a  closed  science.  In  one  introductory  course  known  to 
the  writer  though  not  Included  in  this  study — that  at  Iowa 
University — the  student  is  required  to  read  three  psychologi¬ 
cal  text-books  besides  reading  and  working  out  the  experi¬ 
ments  of  an  experimental  manual.  Such  a  requirement  ob¬ 
viously  presupposes  great  skill,  on  the  instructor’s  part,  in 
the  coordination  of  different  teachings  on  every  topic  of  psy¬ 
chology.  Except  in  the  hands  of  a  gifted  and  experienced 


^  Cf.  Statement  VIII  (p.  44). 
^  Cf.  Statement  IX.  (p.  44). 


52 


IIARY  WniTON  CALKINS 


teacher  the  result  for  the  beginner  in  psychology  might  well 
result  in  a  confusion  of  several  systems  and  a  clear  knowledge 
of  none.  Fewer  text-books,  with  assignment  of  collateral 
reading  on  selected  topics  will  prove,  in  most  cases,  a  more 
practicable  plan. 

The  discussion  of  experiment  in  first  year  psychology 
belongs  to  Professor  Sanford.  Yet  it  may  here  be  remarked 
that  even  a  semester  course  in  large  divisions  may  advan¬ 
tageously  include  simple  experiments.  These  may  be,  in  the 
first  place,  experiments  to  be  performed  out  of  class  and 
reported.  Such  are  experiments  in  visual  contrast,  in  the 
localization  of  temperature  spots,  in  tactual  localization. 
Or  the  experiments  may  be  class  demonstrations — of  color¬ 
mixing,  for  example,  or  of  beating  tones.  In  using  these 
demonstration  experiments,  as  in  the  important  demonstra¬ 
tion  of  physiological  material  (models  and  charts  of  nervous 
system  and  of  sense-organs)  the  important  point  is  to  keep 
always  in  mind  that  the  experiments  are  in  the  service  of  psy¬ 
chology,  that  they  are  of  use  in  teaching  the  student  to  classify 
and  explain  psychic  phenomena,  and  that  they  are  worse  than 
useless  if  they  keep  him  from  seeing  the  psychological  wood 
for  the  physical  and  physiological  trees.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  outcomes  from  the  questionary  is  the  discovery 
that  in  25  of  the  47  cases  studied,  some  use  is  made  of  experi¬ 
ments. ‘ 

The  third  class  of  subsidiary  methods  is  that  of  the  review 
questions  following  on  lecture  and  reading.  Nineteen  (19) 
instructors  make  use  of  ‘review  questions’.  Their  value  as 
stimulus  to  introspection  is  akin  to  that  of  the  questions  by 
which  a  subject  should  be  introduced.  They  should  test  the 
student’s  ability  to  translate  the  formal  language  of  his  science 
into  concrete  terms,  to  recognize  when  he  meets  them,  experi¬ 
ences  which  he  can  define.  Several  of  the  well-known  manuals 
of  psychology — Titchener’s  “Primer,”  Thorndike’s  “Ele¬ 
ments,”  Whipple’s  “Questions  in  General  and  Educational 
Psychology,  ”  and  Witmer’s  “Analytic  Psychology” — contain 
excellent  questions  of  this  type.  And  every  good  teacher  can 


*  Cf.  Statement  X.  (p.  70). 


COLLEGES  WITHOUT  LABORATORIES 


53 


find  in  his  immediate  surroundings  the  material  for  questions 
which  will  lead  the  student  to  make  constant  applications  of 
his  psychology. 

4,  The  exhortation  to  avoid  mere  text-book  study  must 
not  be  interpreted  as  a  criticism  of  so-called  systematic  psy¬ 
chology.  For  no  science  can  help  being  systematic;  and  my 
final  recommendation,  which  may  be  very  briefly  stated,  is 
accordingly  the  following:  Insist  on  clear  definition,  consistent 
use  of  terms,  and  orderly  classification  of  psychic  facts.  The 
definition  and  classification  should,  of  course,  follow  on  intro¬ 
spection;  should  not  be  accepted  uncritically  from  instructor 
or  from  text-book:  and  should  be  subject  to  constant  revision 
as  fresh  observations  are  made.  The  objection  to  system  in 
psychology  is  based  on  a  curious  misconception.  Definition 
and  classification  are  no  Procrustean  bed ;  they  form  rather  a 
scaffolding  which  changes  constantly  with  the  growing  edifice. 
Faulty  definitions,  inconsistent  conceptions,  loose  enumera¬ 
tions  in  place  of  systematic  groupings,  are  a  sheer  hindrance 
to  progress  in  any  science.  If  the  introductory  course  is  to 
have  a  permanent  value,  if  it  is  to  provide  a  basis  for  further 
observation  and  reflection,  the  student  must  clearly  identify 
the  objects  of  his  study,  must  know  the  precise  meaning  of 
his  terms,  must  apprehend  the  likenesses  and  differences  of 
phenomena. 

The  sum  and  substance  of  these  suggestions  is  simply  there¬ 
fore:  Lead  your  student,  by  some  means  or  other,  to  psy¬ 
chologize;  teach  him  to  observe  and  to  describe  himself  pri¬ 
marily,  and  then  other  selves,  in  their  relations,  to  the  environ¬ 
ment.  To  that  end:  Ftrsl,  teach  psychology  primarily  as  you 
would  if  it  were  an  end  in  itself.  Second,  eschew  altogether 
the  method  of  recitation;  lecture  in  order  to  sum  up  and  to 
illustrate  different  topics  of  study,  but  lecture  sparingly;  and 
cultivate  constructive  discussion.  Third,  bar  out  the  possi¬ 
bility  of  memorizing  text-books  by  requiring  students  to 
precede  text-book  study  by  the  experimental  introspection, 
and  to  follow  text-study  by  the  solution  of  concrete  problems. 
Finally,  do  not  tolerate  inexact  thinking,  but  insist  on  clear 
definition,  however  provisional,  and  on  systematic  grouping 
of  facts,  however  incomplete  the  classification. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  ELEMENTARY  PSYCHOLOGY 
IN  COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES  WITH  LAB¬ 
ORATORIES. 

By  E.  C.  Sanford, 

Clark  University. 


To  obtain  data  on  the  teaching  of  first  year  classes  in  psy¬ 
chology  in  such  institutions,  the  following  questionary  was 
sent  to  instructors  in  psychology  in  the  leading  institutions 
east  and  west  with  the  request  that  they  would  furnish  the 
information  desired,  making  replies  to  the  questions,  if  so 
minded,  or  adopting  some  other  form  of  presentation,  if  they 
should  prefer. 

First  Year  Psychology 

INFORMATION  IS  DESIRED  ON  TIIR  FOLLOWING  POINTS 

A .  Purpose  of  the  course  as  now  given: 

Is  it  looked  upon  as  a  means  to  liberal  culture  chiefly,  as  an  introduc¬ 
tion  to  philosophical  studies  in  general,  as  a  subject  having  useful  appli¬ 
cations,  as  a  science  to  be  cultivated  for  itself? 

If  all  of  these  ideals  enter,  or  several  of  them,  please  indicate  their 
relative  importance. 

B.  Academic  status  of  the  course: 

Is  it  a  free  elective,  a  required  part  of  certain  groups,  a  required  pre¬ 
liminary  for  courses  other  than  advanced  psychology,  an  optional  course? 

Does  your  introductory  course  as  now  given  run  through  an  entire 
year?  How  many  periods  a  week?  How  much  laboratory,  how  much 
class  work? 

How  many  usually  register  for  the  course?  Are  they  handled  in  one 
or  several  sections?  About  what  proportion  go  on  to  take  further  work 
in  psychology? 

C.  Content  of  the  course: 

On  what  is  the  chief  emphasis  laid  in  the  course:  psychological  theory, 
physiological  and  experimental  matters,  relations  to  daily  life,  pedago¬ 
gical  and  other  applications? 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES  WITH  LABORATORIES 


55 


Do  you  try  to  do  anything  with  comparative  psychology  (animals), 
child  psychology,  mental  and  nervous  diseases,  psychological  questions 
of  the  day  such  as  hypnotism,  telepathy,  mental  healing,  psychology 
of  testimony  and  the  like? 

If  all  or  several  of  these  topics  are  treated,  please  give  the  relative  im¬ 
portance  attached  to  them. 

D.  Methods  of  instruction: 

Lectures,  text-book  (one  chiefly,  or  several  at  a  time),  collateral  reading, 
reports  by  students,  themes,  discussions,  seminary  work,  individual  con¬ 
ferences — which  of  these,  or  which  combination  of  them,  do  you  find  most 
satisfactory? 

Do  you  give  the  students  special  pedagogical  assistance  in  the  way  of 
outlines,  reviews  with  or  without  special  review  questions,  quizzes,  or 
examinations  other  than  those  for  the  determination  of  academic  stand 
ing? 

Do  you  give  much  or  little  time  to  class  demonstrations  and  experi¬ 
ments? 

Is  individual  laboratory  work  required  or  optional?  How  many  hours 
a  week  are  given  to  it?  How  many  laboratory  hours  are  counted  as  equi¬ 
valent  to  one  recitation  hour? 

How  large  laboratory  sections  an  handled  at  any  one  time?  Do  you 
work  alone,  or  do  you  have  regular  paid  assistants  or  student  assistants? 

Does  laboratory  work  run  throughout  the  year  or  is  it  begun  after  a 
period  of  class  instruction? 

Do  you  follow  a  systematic  course  of  experimentr  required  of  all  labor¬ 
atory  students — one  of  your  own,  or  a  text-book? 

Do  you  think  it  well  for  all  students  to  work  at  the  same  time  at  the 
same  experiments  or  each  individually  (or  in  small  groups)  at  a  separate 
problem? 

Do  you  have  the  laboratory  students  toward  the  end  of  the  year  under¬ 
take  anything  like  minor  research  problems  or  the  repetitron  of  special 
experiments  from  research  literature? 

Are  you  responsible  for  classes  in  any  other  subject  than  psychology? 

Laboratory  equipment:  Number  of  rooms,  large  or  small. 

Are  you  pretty  well  equipped  or  do  you  have  to  make  use  of  a  good 
many  makeshifts?  Have  you  a  workshop? 

Have  you  a  fairly  adequate  appropriation  for  running  expenses  or  are 
you  cramped? 

E.  Possible  improvements  in  the  first  year's  work  in  psychology: 

In  what  direction  would  you  like  to  see  the  first  year’s  work  in  your 
own  institution  develop?  What  w’ould  you  change  if  you  had  a  free 
hand? 

What  do  you  find  the  chief  difficulty  in  giving  such  a  course  as  you 
would  like? 

On  the  instructional  side — immaturity  of  the  students,  lack  of  pre¬ 
liminary  training  on  their  pari  in  physiology,  physics  and  other  sciences. 


56 


E.  C.  SANFORD 


lack  of  skill  in  introspection,  no  text-book  of  precisely  the  right  scope, 
insufl&cient  time  allowed  in  the  programme  of  studies? 

On  the  material  side — inadequate  equipment,  poor  quarters,  insuf¬ 
ficient  help? 

Do  the  students  fail  to  take  psychological  experiments  seriously,  fail 
to  get  what  the  experiments-mean,  are  short  in  manipulative  skill,  are 
unwilling  to  give  the  time  necessary  for  careful  experimentation? 

F.  Philanthropical: 

Have  you  a  general  list  of  reading  in  periodicals  and  the  like,  outside 
the  ordinary  psychological  texts,  which  you  have  found  useful  in  the  work 
with  first  year  classes  and  which  you  would  be  willing  to  contribute  tc  a 
bibliog]  aphy  of  recommended  “  outside  reading,”  if  one  should  be  append¬ 
ed  to  the  report  of  the  committee? 

Have  you  similarly  any  especially  good  demonstrations  or  simple  ex¬ 
periments,  not  found  in  such  good  form  (or  not  found  at  all)  in  the  man¬ 
uals,  which  you  would  be  willing  to  publish  in  the  report,  or  otherwise, 
for  the  general  good? 

Have  you  any  special  picv  es  of  demonstrational  apparatus  or  apparatus 
for  student  practice  courses  which  you  have  found  especially  convenient 
and  which  have  not  yet  been  described? 

Finally,  have  you  any  suggestion.-  not  extorted  by  the  above  queries 
as  to  what  ought  to  be  done  in  a  first  year’s  course  in  psychology 
or  as  to  points  on  which  this  committee  could  obtain  information  that 
w'ould  be  helpful  to  you? 

Most  of  those  who  replied  answered  the  questions  as 
given,  a  few  however  took  advantage  of  the  latitude 
offered  and  gave  the  information  in  other  forms.  In  the 
minds  of  the  sub-committee  such  freedom  of  reply  was  more 
valuable  than  an  enforced  uniformity  which  would  have 
allowed  a  statistical  treatment  of  the  data.  In  what  follows, 
therefore,  we  shall  deal  with  rough  proportions  only  and  not 
attempt  tabular  statements. 

In  presenting  this  report  the  sub-committee  wishes  to  make 
grateful  acknowledgements  to  those  in  charge  of  the  work  in 
psychology,  in  the  thirty  or  more  institutions  responjding,  for 
the  friendly  cooperation  without  which  the  undertaking  would 
have  been  quite  impossible. 

The  following  institutions  responded:  Brown,  Bryn  Mawi,  Califor¬ 
nia,  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  Clark  College,  Columbia,  Cornell,  Harvard, 
Hobart,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Johns  Hopkins,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Mt.  Hol¬ 
yoke,  Nebraska,  New  York  University,  Ohio  State  University,  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  Princeton,  Smith,  Teachers  College  (Columbia  University),  Texas, 
Toronto,  Vassar,  Washington  (St.  Louis),  George  Washington,  Welles¬ 
ley,  Wisconsin,  Wyoming,  Yale. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES  WITH  LABORATORIES 


57 


The  typical  beginner’s  course  in  psychology  is  a  course  in 
“general  psychology.  ”  Experimental  psychology  comes  later 
though  in  some  of  the  larger  institutions  parallel  courses  are 
offered  and  the  student,  if  so  inclined,  may  work  from  the 
start  in  the  laboratory.  Our  questions  covered  both  kinds  of 
work  and  a  certain  amount  of  information  has  been  collected 
with  reference  to  introductory  laboratory  courses.  Our 
report  will  therefore  consist  of  two  sections,  the  first  and  longer 
dealing  with  the  introductory  “general  course,”  the  second 
with  the  first  work  in  the  laboratory. 

THE  GENERAL  INTRODUCTORY  COURSE. 

The  first  year’s  course  in  psychology  is  often  a  popular  one 
in  the  sense  that  it  gathers  in  a  relatively  large  body  of  stu¬ 
dents.  In  many  institutions  some  course  in  “philosophy” 
must  be  taken  and  psychology  is  the  one  selected.  In  about 
one  quarter  of  those  reporting,  it  is  a  definitely  required  course 
for  all  arts  students  and  in  nearly  a  third  more  it  is  required  of 
students  in  the  educational  department,  of  pre-medical  stu¬ 
dents  and  of  those  desiring  certification  as  teachers.  In  more 
than  half,  however,  it  competes  on  an  equal  footing  as  a  free- 
elective,  and  the  size  of  the  classes  testifies  to  the  popularity 
of  the  instructor  and  the  subject. 

The  immense  classes  of  the  larger  institutions  200,  300  or 
400,  are  often  handled  in  a  single  body  for  lectures  and  in  a 
number  of  smaller  sections  for  quizzes  or  other  reenforcements 
of  instruction.  Where  the  lecture  method  is  not  used  the 
handling  of  the  class  in  sections  is  of  course  imperative,  and 
these  immense  classes  would  preclude  laboratory  work,  even 
if  no  other  reasons  existed  for  its  postponement. 

The  proportion  of  students  following  psychology  beyond 
this  first  course  varies  greatly,  as  might  be  expected,  but  less 
than  40  per  cent  of  the  students  continue  in  four-fifths  of  the 
institutions  reporting,  and  but  25  per  cent  or  less  in  two- 
thirds  of  them.  The  fact  that  large  classes  are  enrolled  year 
after  year  shows  that  neither  the  subject  nor  the  presentation 
of  it  is  per  se  repellent.  The  small  number  going  further 


E.  C.  SANFORD 


S8 


shows  rather  that  we  have  to  do  in  these  large  classes  with  a 
student  group  whose  major  interests  are  in  other  directions 
and  who  make  the  course  in  psychology  incidental  to  the  main 
trend  of  their  studies. 

Psychology  is  an  important  branch  of  human  knowledge, 
which  has  interesting  bearings  on  every  day  life  and  vital 
relations  to  the  work  of  certain  professions,  serves  excellently  to 
bring  before  the  student  certain  fundamental  questions  of  phil¬ 
osophy,  and  is  for  these  reasons  an  efficient  means  of  culture. 
i\.ll  these  functions  are  probably  present  in  some  measure  in 
the  minds  of  all  instructors,  but  the  main  purpose  of  the 
course  and  the  relative  importance  of  its  coeffects  are  variously 
conceived.  In  more  than  a  quarter  of  even  this  group  of 
institutions  psychology  is  still  looked  upon  as  first  of  all  the 
gateway  to  philosophy.  In  more  than  half,  however,  the 
science  is  presented  for  its  own  sake  chiefly  and  the  other 
results  of  its  study  (except  perhaps  the  contribution  to  general 
culture,  which  is  regarded  as  a  natural  consequence  of  a  proper 
mastery  of  the  subject)  are  looked  upon  as  quite  secondary. 
In  nearly  half  considerable  importance  is  attached  to  the 
presentation  of  a  certain  useful  subject  matter,  and  concrete¬ 
ness  and  applications  are  emphasized.  In  some  the  cultural 
purpose  seems  more  directly  in  view,  by  which  is  meant,  we 
infer,  a  somewhat  less  detailed  and  technical  presentation  than 
that  used  when  the  science  is  taught  without  ulterior  con¬ 
siderations. 

In  about  half  the  cases  “psychological  theory”  (which,  as 
we  infer,  was  taken  by  most  of  those  who  replied  to  mean 
systematic  psychology,  or  psychological  principles  presented 
in  a  coordinated  way)  receives  chief  emphasis.  In  about  a 
third  the  chief  emphasis  is  laid  upon  experimental  and 
physiological  matters;  while  in  a  few  cases  the  relations  to 
daily  life  are  especially  stressed.  Only  two  correspondents 
speak  of  emphasizing  the  facts  of  the  mental  life,  but  this 
may  be  due  to  the  way  in  which  the  question  was  phrased  and 
it  would  perhaps  be  fair  to  count  all  that  do  not  specify  philo¬ 
sophical  tendencies  or  psychological  principles  as  tending  in 
this  direction.  The  central  theme  is  of  course  the  mind  of 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES  WITH  LABORATORIES 


59 


the  normal  human  adult  and  in  some  cases  there  is  small 
departure  from  it.  The  mental  life  of  animals  and  children 
and  mental  disease  are  referred  to  in  a  merely  incidental  way 
and  for  illustration.  In  a  few  cases,  however,  where  the 
instructor’s  interest  and  equipment  are  adequate,  some  atten¬ 
tion  is  given  to  borderland  phenomena,  child  psychology  and 
mental  and  nervous  diseases.  Topics  of  popular  interest  are 
often  taken  up  with  a  view  to  combating  superstition  and 
popular  error. 

In  about  half  the  institutions  reporting  there  is  at  least  one 
instructor  devoting  himself  to  psychology  exclusively.  In 
the  larger  institutions  with  parallel  courses,  the  instructor 
giving  the  general  course  gives  courses  also  in  one  or  more  of 
the  philosophical  branches,  the  work  in  psychology  being  his 
less  important  function.  The  instructor  giving  the  more 
special  (experimental)  course  is  usually  free  from  such 
entanglements.  In  a  few  cases  in  the  less  differentiated 
departments  the  instructor  in  psychology  takes  a  single  class 
for  his  overburdened  philosophical  colleagues,  usually  in  logic, 
ethics  or  aesthetics;  or  else  carries  work  in  pedagogy. 

As  regards  method  the  course  is  usually  a  mixed  text  book 
and  lecture  course,  though  in  some  cases  a  text  alone  or  lec¬ 
tures  alone  are  mentioned.  Demonstrations  are  frequent, 
especially  when  the  central  nervous  system  and  sensation  are 
under  consideration,  and  in  a  few  cases  simple  experiments  are 
made  in  the  class  or  by  the  students  individually  at  home,  e.g., 
such  as  are  found  in  Seashore’s  manual.  Actual  laboratory 
work  is  not  usually  attempted.  Of  the  other  pedagogical 
devices,  discussions  (probably  the  ordinary  class  discussions  are 
meant)  are  most  frequently  mentioned ;  and  collateral  reading, 
theme  writing,  student  reports  and  individual  conferences  follow 
in  the  order  named.  The  quiz  appears  in  some  form  in  nearly 
every  report.  Sometimes  it  is  written,  sometimes  oral,  some 
times  it  occurs  once  or  twice  a  semester  and  is  an  hour  long, 
sometimes  weekly  or  oftener  and  occupies  5  or  lo  minutes. 
In  one  college  all  the  papers  turned  in,  in  a  monthly  test,  are 
corrected  and  returned  to  the  students,  in  another,  where  a 
five  minute  written  quiz  is  employed,  the  plan  calls  for  the 


6o 


E.  C.  SANFORD 


marking  of  but  one-quarter  of  the  papers  each  time.  In 
about  a  third  of  the  institutions  reporting  something  in  the 
way  of  an  outline  or  syllabus  or  special  set  of  review  questions 
is  furnished  the  student  as  an  aid.  A  happy  variant  of  the 
review  questions  is  that  of  issuing  questions  which  cannot  be 
answered  directly  from  the  text  or  lectures  and  which  require  some 
active  response  on  the  part  of  the  student.  In  one  instance  this 
has  gone  even  a  step  further  and  questions  are  given  which 
demand  a  certain  amount  of  simple  introspection  or  experi¬ 
mentation  or  both.  In  this  way  a  real  acquaintance  with 
mental  facts  is  cultivated. 

With  so  much  in  recall  of  the  generally  familiar  situation, 
let  us  hear  the  instructors  on  their  chief  hindrances  and  what 
they  would  change  if  they  had  a  free  hand. 

Inconveniently  large  classes  or  a  lack  of  assistance  is  men¬ 
tioned  as  a  serious  difficulty  by  about  a  third  of  those  report¬ 
ing,  but  this  is  perhaps  less  an  evil  than  the  dearth  of  students, 
which  is  once  mentioned.  Lack  of  equipment  or  inconven¬ 
ience  in  quarters  is  mentioned  by  about  a  third,  also.  More 
than  half  find  the  students  ill  prepared  for  psychological  work, 
especially  in  being  unable  to  use  the  knowledge  of  physics 
and  physiology  which  they  are  supposed  to  possess,  and  in 
.heir  inability  to  introspect.  Some  find  themselves  hindered 
by  the  mixed  and  uneven  character  of  the  classes  in  these 
and  other  respects.  One  or  two  mention  the  student’s  unwill¬ 
ingness  to  work,  or  his  overinterest  in  the  practical  (pedagogi¬ 
cal)  aspects  of  the  science.  More,  however,  report  no  lack 
of  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  the  students,  and  one  or  two 
feel  that  immature  students  are  the  teacher’s  excuse  for  being, 
or  state  as  their  chief  difficulties  their  own  subjective  limita¬ 
tions.  The  lack  of  a  first  rate  text  book  is  mentioned  a  number 
of  times  and  insufficient  time  in  the  program  of  studies  per¬ 
haps  as  often.  Only  two  mention  specifically  the  hostility  of 
superior  officers  to  scientific  psychology. 

In  answer  to  the  question  as  to  how  they  would  like  to 
alter  their  courses  if  free  to  do  so,  about  one-half  the  instruc¬ 
tors  in  question  reply  that  they  would  make  the  work  more 
concrete  and  tangible  and  especially  would  add  more  demon- 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES  WITH  LABORATORIES 


6i 


strational  and  experimental  work;  one  or  two  would  even  like 
to  see  laboratory  work  required  of  every  student  as  in  chemis¬ 
try  and  physics.  Nearly  a  third  would  be  glad  of  more  assis¬ 
tants  in  order  that  the  classes  might  be  handled  in  smaller 
sections  and  the  students  receive  more  individual  attention. 

Some  of  these  difficulties  and  desires  are  by  no  means  pecul- 
liar  to  psychology,  and  could  be  matched  from  almost  any 
department  in  any  growing  institution.  Too  large  classes, 
too  few  assistants  and  unsatisfactory  quarters  are  the  common 
lot  of  nearly  all  instructors  in  nearly  all  sciences.  The  same 
is  true  in  a  measure  of  the  immaturity  and  imperfect  training 
of  the  students.  The  suggestion,  however,  that  their  defi¬ 
ciency  in  these  particulars  is  only  a  sign  that  they  need  a 
teacher  meets  the  matter  in  part  only:  there  seems  to  be  a 
real  difficulty  here  and  one  resting  with  especial  weight  on 
psychology.  Inability  to  introspect  means  inability  to  get 
at  the  subject  matter  of  psychological  science  and  points  to 
an  unusual  danger  of  substituting  a  knowledge  of  words  and 
descriptions  of  psychical  phenomena  for  knowledge  of  the 
things  themselves.  This  in  the  committee’s  opinion  is  a 
matter  of  first  class  importance  and  needs  the  attention  of 
every  teacher  of  beginners  in  psychology. 

The  frequent  desire  for  more  demonstrations  and  more 
experiments  in  the  beginner’s  course  may  possibly  mean  a 
wish  for  a  more  striking  lecture  material  only,  but  it  ought 
to  mean  a  desire  for  a  closer  envisagement  of  the  psychic 
facts  by  the  pupil. 

The  fact  that  many  students  whose  main  interest  lies  else¬ 
where  are  now  drawn  into  the  first  year’s  classes  in  psychology 
and  that  introspection  is  a  hard  matter  at  the  best  would 
seem  to  make  the  opening  of  their  inner  eyes  to  the  mental 
world  one  of  the  first  and  most  imperative  duties  of  the  course. 
Practical  bars  of  the  most  insuperable  sort  hinder  the  accom¬ 
plishment  of  this  by  regular  work  in  the  laboratory.  The 
classes  are  almost  everywhere  too  large  and  the  amount  of 
time  which  the  students  can  give  to  psychology  too  small. 
What  is  wanted  is  clearly  some  other  method  of  bringing  the 
student  into  contact  with  the  psychical  facts.  Something  is 


62 


E.  C.  SANFORD 


already  being  done,  and  often  a  good  deal,  in  the  way  of 
demonstrations  and  class  experiments  and  this  is  in  every 
way  admirable  when  the  instructor  makes  use  of  the  intro¬ 
spective  possibilities  which  they  offer  and  drives  home  the 
psychological  meaning  of  what  is  presented.  But  the  begin¬ 
nings  which  have  been  made  in  the  issuing  of  questions  requir¬ 
ing  simple  introspections  and  experiments,  and  in  the  prepara¬ 
tion  of  simple  experimental  courses  which  can  be  followed  by 
the  student  at  home  as  a  part  of  the  regular  preparation  for 
the  lecture  or  recitation  hour,  are  undoubtedly  still  more 
important  steps  in  the  right  direction  and  worthy  of  all 
encouragements. 

The  most  interesting  and  valuable  of  the  information 
brought  out  by  our  questions  was  that  which  a  number  of 
our  colleagues  were  kind  enough  to  give  in  reply  to  a  portion 
of  our  last  question  which  read  as  follows; 

“Finally,  have  you  any  suggestions  not  extorted  by  the  above  queries 
as  to  what  ought  to  be  done  in  a  first  year’s  course  in  psychology?” 
Several  of  these  paragraphs  of  suggestion  we  desire  to  give  in  extenso. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  GENERAL  COURSE. 

I.  “But  seveial  things  are  needed  for  the  improvement  of  courses 
like  A  (a  “general  course”).  ...  I  might  mention: 

“(i)  A  good  reliable  list  (a)  of  inexpensive  demonstrational  apparatus 
and  (b)  of  useful  demonstrational  experiments,  whose  use  with  the  class 
would  occupy  a  veiy  small  proportion  of  its  time,  but  would  serve  not 
merely  for  its  entertainment  but  as  a  real  help  in  comprehending  the  facts 
and  principles  discussed.  I  am  not  fully  satisfied  yet  with  existing  lists. 

“  (2)  A  good  critical  bibliography  on  each  phase  of  the  subject. 

“  (3)  A  standard  set  of  lantern  slides. 

“  (4)  A  larger  agreement  among  the  leading  psychologists  as  to  what 
are  the  fixed  and  permanent  underlying  principles  of  the  science. 

“(5)  An  adequate  text  book  that  will  emphasize  these  fundamental 
principles  first  of  all,  aiming  to  present  them  soundly  and  convincingly 
with  only  enough  of  detailed  fact  to  make  these  essential  principles  clear; 
leaving  to  lectures  and  collateral  reading  the  acquisition  of  further  de¬ 
tails  and  the  application  of  the  fundamental  principles  to  them.  At 
present  to  reach  this  ideal,  I  suppose  each  of  us  must  write  his  own  text 
book;  for  I  haven’t  found  one  yet  that  satisfies  me.” 

II.  “I  am  of  the  opinion  that  a  General  Introductory  Course  that  is 
required  should  not  be  a  laboratory  course.  Too  little  can  be  covered  in 
such  a  course  and  to  my  mind  the  advantage  of  the  laboratory  method 
should,  under  the  circumstances,  be  sacrificed  for  the  sake  of  the  greater 


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63 


advantages  of  a  course  of  wider  scope,  and  such  as  can  be  given  in  the  same 
time  in  lectures  supplemented  by  copious  demonstrations. 

“If  the  course  is  not  required  and  if  most  of  the  students  take  further 
work  in  Psychology  the  force  of  the  above  objection  is  greatly  reduced. 
Nevertheless,  even  in  this  case,  a  general  lecture  course  with  demon¬ 
strations  and  class  experiments  is  to  be  preferred  by  way  of  introduction 
to  a  strict  laboratory  one. 

“I  insist  in  my  general  required  course  upon  the  structure,  the  organ¬ 
ization  and  the  function  of  the  nervous  system.  This  seems  to  me  re¬ 
quisite  not  only  for  a  proper  understanding  of  psychology  as  a  science, 
but  also  for  a  modern  understanding  of  man  and  his  activities.  This 
general  culture  value  of  a  clear  and  not  too  scrappy  understanding  of  the 
organization  and  of  the  function  of  the  nervous  system  is,  to  my  mind, 
of  the  first  importance  in  a  required  course.” 

III.  “i.  Business-like  administration  is  desirable  in  the  interest  of 
the  student,  who  is  likely  to  get  into  slovenly  habits.  Tc  this  end  W —  has 
found  nothing  bettei  up  to  date,  than  dividing  each  half  yeaTs  work 
into  5  parts,  each  part  being  a  subject,  such  as  space  perception,  associa¬ 
tion,  memory,  reaction  time;  the  work  on  each  part  is  to  be  completed 
at  a  previously  set  date,  the  laboratory  notes  to  be  handed  in,  and  an 
examination  on  that  part  taken. 

“2.  Instead  of  assigned  cultural  readings  W —  prefeir,  usually,  prob¬ 
lems  to  be  worked  out  by  the  student;  as  for  example  (a)illustrationsof 
Weber’s  law  from  common  life  (usually  not  very  successful) ;  (b)  records 
of  trains  of  association;  (c)  exercises  in  finding  average,  constant  and 
variable  errors,  etc.” 

IV.  “Standardize  by  getting  (and  recommending)  good  sense  organ 

and  central  nervous  system  slides  and  models.  By  suggesting  certain 
sets  of  demonstrations.  .  .  .  (but)  leavmg  time  for  instructorial 

bent. 

“Arrange  some  exchanges  of  first  year  examination  papers  between 
different  universities.” 

V.  “I  would  suggest  that  the  committee  prepare  or  further  the  prepa¬ 
ration  of  leaflets  or  pamphlets  containing  drrections  for  single  experi¬ 
ments  or  groups  of  experiments  in  order  that  instructors  may  make  any 
combination  suited  to  their  needs.  Even  the  smaller  mamtals  contain 
much  not  suited  to  some  classes.” 

VI.  “I  would  suggest  that  a  loose  leaf  laboratory  book  be  prepared, 
corresponding  to  books  now  used  in  physics,  chemistry,  etc.,  describing 
a  series  of  simple  experiments  and  containing  all  the  material  necessary 
for  performing  the  experiments.  If  the  experiments  were  performed 
under  constant  conditions,  and  the  records  sent  to  some  central  body,  we 
should  be  in  possession  of  some  psychologic  norms  with  which  we  could 
compare  the  results  given  by  our  own  students.  I  have  a  lot  of  this 
stuff  worked  out  now  and  should  be  glad  to  cooperate.” 

VII.  “The  thing  that  more  than  any  other  keeps  us  to  the  old  lines  is 
the  belief  that  the  beginning  student  should  get  a  firm  grip  on  the  vocab¬ 
ulary  of  psychology,  even  if  that  vocabulary  is  somewhat  archaic,  and 
that  a  study  at  first  limited  to  the  normal,  human,  adult  mind,  is  best 
for  that  purpose.” 


64 


E.  C.  SANFORD 


VIII.  “If  my  observations  are  correct  Experimental  Psychology  is 
now  taken  (elected)  by  only  a  few  students.  The  way  to  save  this  work 
for  education  is  to  combine  its  essentials  with  the  introductory  course, 
I  sincerely  believe.  Experimental  psychology  has  an  ‘educative’  value 
in  various  ways  but  now  this  is  almost  entirely  lost.  Combining  the 
essentials  with  the  introductory  course  would  also  assist  in  giving  the 
essentials  of  the  text  book.  I  used  Seashore’s  Elementary  Experiments  in 
my  beginning  classs  this  year  and  found  it  decidedly  helpful.” 

IX.  “With  respect  to  ordinary  college  first  year  psychology  my  main 
divergences  from  customary  opinion  are: 

“  (i)  That  this  course  in  psychology  is  not  to  make  philosophers. 

“(2)  That  this  course  in  psychology  is  not  to  make  psychologists. 

“  (3)  That  this  course  in  psychology  is  to  make  men  and  women  better 
fitted  to  understand  all  the  sciences  and  arts  dealing  with  human  nature. 

“  (4)  That  psychology  is  not  best  taught  to  beginners  as  the  study  of 
human  consciousness  but  as  the  study  of  human  nature  and  behavior. 

“  (5)  That  experiment  dealing  with  realities  and  exercises  testing  knowl¬ 
edge  and  power  by  demanding  their  application  to  new  problems  are  a 
sine  qua  non  of  success  in  teaching  psychology  (or  anything  else). 

“  (6)  That  the  function  of  the  teacher  is  not  primarily  to  get  a  great 
amount  of  work  done  by  the  students  but  to  get  the  greatest  amount  of 
knowledge,  skill,  etc.,  from  a  given  amount  of  work  b>  them. 

“  (7)  That  the  actual  content  of  the  course  is  more  important  than  most 
teachers  of  psychology  think  and  the  form  or  discipline  or  point  of  view, 
etc.,  less  important.” 

X.  “If  conditions  permitted  it,  I  should  be  in  favor  of  giving  a  whole 
year  to  the  required  course,  in  which  the  only  laboratory  work  would 
be  of  a  practice  character.  In  such  a  care  I  would  like  to  see  the  dynamic, 
rather  than  the  static,  aspects  of  mind  emphasized.  I  would  begin  the 
course,  not  with  a  detailed  analysis  of  sensation  but  with  a  consideration 
of  the  biological  functions  and  place  of  the  human  rm'nd.  Then  I  would 
proceed  to  more  careful  analysis  with  experimental  illustration.  I  would 
spend  a  good  deal  of  time  on  the  psychology  of  conduct,  thinking,  feeling, 
bringing  out  the  connection  between  ethics,  logic,  aesthetics,  etc.,  and 
psychological  analysis.  I  would  give  some  attention  to  abnormalities 
of  consciousness  and  action  and  pornt  out  the  practical,  social,  moral  and 
educational  bearing  of  psychology. 

“Whatever  may  be  said  in  favor  of  a  structural  psychology  that  is 
rigorously  atomistic,  as  a  legitimate  scientific  proceeding.  .  .  .  my 

experience  as  a  teacher  leads  me  to  say  that  emphasis  on  the  structural, 
static,  and  atomistic  points  of  view  is  not  desirable  in  a  first  year  course. 

“Whatever  the  value  or  interest  of  these  very  vague  remarks,  they  are 
to  be  taken  as  the  expression  of  a  teacher  who,  while  recognizing  the  inde¬ 
pendent  rights  of  psychology,  does  not  deem  it  wise,  from  the  standpoint 
of  undergraduate  instruction  and  of  philosophical  culture,  to  divorce 
if  from  philosophy.  In  fact,  as  one  whose  interests  are  predominently 
epistemological,  ethical  and  metaphysical,  I  am  not  at  present  able  to 
draw  any  sharp  dividing  line  between  functional  psychology  and  philos¬ 
ophy.  ” 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES  WITH  LABORATORIES 


65 


XI.  “A  satisfactory  consensus  of  opinion,  today,  I  think  is  impossible 
to  obtain;  and  such  as  you  will  get  I  consider  more  liliely  to  do  harm  than 
good,  except  possibly  in  the  smaller  colleges.  ...  I  consider  the 
attempt  to  standardize  courses  premature;  let  the  men  in  the  field  experi¬ 
ment  with  courses,  the  best  will  survive;  but  your  made  to  order  course 
or  your  average  course  will  never  be  as  good  as  the  best.” 

XII.  “  I  do  not  think  that  it  is  possible  to  teach  a  science  in  any  other 
way  than  as  a  “science  to  be  cultivated  for  itself.”  That  is  to  say,  I 
should  give  precisely  the  same  introductory  course,  whatever  the  aims 
and  needs  of  the  students  who  took  it.  I  doubt  whether  it  is  advisable 
to  cut  a  science  to  suit  the  requirements  even  of  a  distinct  professional 
coirrse;  I  doubt,  that  is,  if  it  is  advisable  to  teach  English  Literature  for 
Engineers  or  Physiology  for  Medical  Students;  I  believe  that  the  best 
results  are  gained,  in  such  cases,  by  teaching  English  literature  and  physi¬ 
ology.  But  ‘general  culture’  or  ‘liberal  education’ — the  supposed  main 
object  of  college  courses  in  arts  and  sciences — is  not  a  profession,  is  not 
at  all  strictly  definable;  and  I  do  not  see  how  it  is  possible,  not  to  say 
desirable,  to  cut  psychology  to  fit  that  requirement. 

“I  teach  psychology,  at  the  beginning,  in  an  elementary  manner.  I 
make  things  as  simple  as  possible;  I  omit  phases  of  problems,  even  whole 
problems,  where  simplification  to  the  necessary  degree  is  impossible;  I 
am  dogmatic  on  points  where  dogmatism  is  strictly  out  of  place,  although 
the  dogmatic  statements  are  always  qualified  for  those  who  have  ears  to 
hear.  But  I  am  all  the  while  teaching  psychology,  as  best  I  can,  without 
ulterior  motive  or  ideal.  I  get  a  good  many  men  from  engineering, 
medicine  and  law;  the  number  of  these  outside  students  is  steadily  in¬ 
creasing;  but  I  make  no  concessions  to  them. 

“If  any  other  ideal  is  followed,  it  seems  to  me  that  one  of  two  things 
must  happen.  Either  the  teacher  lapses  into  dilettantism;  and  for  this 
there  is  no  defence.  Or  the  teacher  substitutes  his  personal  and  private 
judgment  for  the  objective  judgment  embodied  in  the  actual  course  and 
growth  of  the  science;  he  forces  on  the  students  his  own  notion  of  cul¬ 
tural  or  philosophical  or  practical  application,  instead  of  shoving  what 
has  been  accomplished  and  allowing  that  accompHshment  to  speak  for 
itself.  In  general,  this  alternative  must  lead  to  bad  results. 

“I  grant,  of  course,  that  a  teacher,  a  man  who  is  in  love  with  his  sub¬ 
ject,  will  do  well  with  students  whatever  method  he  follows  and  whatever 
choice  he  make.  That  is  axiomatic.  But  I  suppose  that  the  aim  of 
this  questionary  is  to  help  the  weaker  brethren,  and  not  to  legislate  for 
those  who  already  know.  And  I  should  accordingly  counsel  the  weaker 
brother,  if  he  is  a  professor  of  psychology,  to  teach  psychology.  If  he 
does  this,  up  to  his  honest  limit  of  achievement,  he  will  find  that  psychol¬ 
ogy  will  show  its  own  bearing  upon  culture,  its  own  philosophical  rele¬ 
vance,  its  own  applicability.  These  references  may  then  be  followed  up, 
as  needs  arise  and  as  the  size  of  the  staff  allows,  by  later  courses,  given 
either  by  the  department  of  psychology  or  by  those  of  pliilosophy  and  edu¬ 
cation,  etc.  To  interject  them  at  the  beginning  is  to  warp  the  mind  of 
the  student.  .  .  . 

“My  ideal  is  the  local  separation  of  the  college  from  the  university. 


66 


E.  C.  SANFORD 


With  this  ideal  realized,  I  should  offer  (i)  an  introductory  course,  much 
as  I  do  now,  for  graduates  in  other  departments,  and  (2)  research  and 
training  courses  in  the  laboratory.  I  should  not,  by  choice,  be  a  ‘college’ 
professor.  Being  this,  however,  I  have  rigorously  pushed  my  university 
ideals  into  the  college  work.  The  success  is  patent;  my  270  elective 
students — if  their  number  is  compared  with  the  number  of  the  sophomore 
students  in  the  college — are  sufficient  witness.  To  say  that  hard  work 
cannot  be  got  out  of  the  students,  or  to  say  that  scientific  psychology 
is  uninteresting,  is  simply  to  cover  up  one’s  own  laziness  or  incompe¬ 
tence. 

“I  must  here  interject  my  ideas  on  the  lecture  system.  The  lecture 
has  a  twofold  advantage  over  the  recitation,  (i)  It  is  economical,  since 
one  man  handles  a  large  number  of  students ;  the  method  of  recitation 
is  extravagant.  This  fact  alone  will  mean  the  retention  of  the  lecture 
system,  wherever  it  can  possibly  be  employed  with  success.  (2)  It  is 
educationally  the  better  method,  for  the  average  student  and  the  aver¬ 
age  teacher.  For  the  reconstruction  of  a  lecture  from  notes  means  an 
essay  in  original  work,  in  original  thinking;  while  the  recitation  lapses 
all  too  readily  into  text-book  rote  and  verbal  repetition. 

“It  is,  nevertheless,  true  that  sophomore  students  are  on  the  whole 
inadequate  to  a  lecture  course.  They  cannot  take  notes;  they  cannot 
tear  the  heart  out  of  a  lecture.  (They  are  also,  I  may  add,  inadequate 
to  the  reading  of  textbooks  or  general  literature,  in  much  the  same  way.) 
Hence  one  has  to  supplement  the  lecture  by  syllabi,  by  lists  of  questions 
(indexes,  so  to  speak,  to  the  lectures),  and  by  personal  interviews.  I 
spend,  on  the  average,  S  hours  of  time  on  every  one  of  my  sophomore 
lectures;  I  give  24  hours  a  week  to  a  3  hours’  course.  But,  doing  this,  I 
secure  a  fail-percentage  of  2  or  under. 

“Evidently,  this  method  is  wasteful  of  good  material.  While  it  costs 
less  than  it  would  cost  to  add  half  a  dozen  assistants  for  recitations;  and 
while  it  is  also,  educationally,  a  better  method  than  that,  it  still  wastes 
good  professorial  time.  The  remedy,  is,  to  accustom  students  to  note¬ 
taking  in  the  high  school.  In  the  English  public  schools,  a  part  of  the 
work  in  the  upper  forms  is  lecture-work,  for  which  the  boys  are  held 
responsible;  they  therefore  go  to  the  university  in  some  measure  prepared 
for  the  lecture  courses.  Now  lectures  are  frequently  given,  by  outsiders, 
to  the  students  in  American  high  schools;  but  they  are  looked  upon  as  a 
recreation  or  a  bore.  I  suggest  that  these  lectures,  given  once  or  twice 
a  term  through  the  four  years,  might  be  utilized  for  teaching  the  students 
to  take  notes.  The  students  might,  in  a  minor  way,  be  held  responsible 
for  the  reproduction  of  their  contents.  Then,  in  the  freshman  year,  the 
student  might  take,  say  a  single  lecture  course  of  3  hours  a  week;  so  that, 
in  the  sophomore  year,  he  would  come  to  the  psychologist  with  some  train¬ 
ing. 

“I  speak  of  averages  all  the  way  through.  A  man  may  be  a  born  lec¬ 
turer,  or  a  born  user  of  the  Socratic  method;  he  will  succeed  anywhere. 
But  w’e  do  not  get  congenital  ability  throughout  our  faculties.  I  believe 
in  the  lecture  system,  for  the  average  student  and  the  average  instructor 
of  our  subject,  but  I  suggest  that  the  present  state  of  affairs  might  be  im- 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES  WITH  LABORATORIES 


67 


proved,  on  the  side  of  the  student,  by  better  high  school  preparation.  As 
for  the  instructor,  he  must  be  taught,  as  sharply  as  necessary,  that  a  lec¬ 
ture  is  a  work  of  art,  and  not  a  perfunctory  delivery  of  information. 
Much  of  the  failure  to  interest,  in  psychology,  is  due  to  the  instructor’s 
lack  of  education  in  his  art:  he  cannot  manage  his  voice,  he  has  not  learned 
what  he  wants  to  say,  he  does  not  properly  enunciate,  he  cannot  vary 
from  narrative  to  exposition,  to  argument;  his  anecdotes  are  purple 
patches  and  not  relevant  lightenings  of  the  material.  Time  and  again 
I  have  listened  to  ‘lectures  in  psychology’  that  made  me  wish  I  had  the 
lecturer  alone,  with  nothing  but  the  moral  law  in  my  heart  and  the  uni¬ 
verse  of  stars  above  me.  .  .  . 

“  So — to  return — my  chiei  difficulty  is  immaturity  of  training  (not  of 
mind)  on  the  part  of  the  students.  Physiology  and  physics  they  have 
tasted,  or  can  get  concomitantly;  introspection  it  is  my  business  to  teach 
them;  text-books  I  can  write  myself;  and  I  have  my  share  of  their  time. 
I  want  them  only  to  know  how  to  deal  with  spoken  or  printed  material. 

“Our  equipment  I  have  already  described.  Students  who  lack  serious¬ 
ness,  or  understanding,  or  manipulative  skill,  or  time  to  devote  to  the 
subject,  are  bowed  out  of  the  laboratory  in  the  course  of  the  first  fort¬ 
night.  Why  should  we  bother  wdth  them?  They  are  not  obliged  to 
come  in,  and  we  are  assuredly  not  obliged  to  hold  them  if  they  do  come 
in.  We  take  all  imaginable  pains  with  the  real  student,  whatever  he  may 
at  first  be  lacking  in;  but  the  unfit  are  eliminated.  And  if  one  has  had 
experience,  the  spotting  of  the  unfit  is  not  a  very  difficult  thing. 

“  I  should  deprecate  the  publication  of  any  list  of  first  yeai ’s  collateral 
reading.  The  science  is  growing  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  the  collateral 
reading  shifts  and  changes  from  year  to  year.  To  publish  a  list  would 
be  to  relieve  the  instructor,  for  some  years  to  come,  of  what  should  be 
an  integral  and  an  interesting  part  of  his  own  work  and  growth.  The  list 
would  remain,  fossilized,  and  students  would  suffer.  No  concessions 
should  be  made,  I  think,  to  the  weakness  of  the  instructor;  every  allow¬ 
ance  should  be  made  for  the  poor  training  of  the  student.  .  .  . 

“The  sum  and  substance  of  my  recommendations  is  that  you  provide 
a  competently  trained  instructor,  and  let  him  teach  psychology  as  he  best 
can.  What  the  student  needs  is  the  effect  of  an  individuality,  a  person¬ 
ality;  and  the  lecture  system  provides  admirably  for  such  effect.  I 
should  strongly  deprecate  the  issuance  of  any  general  plan  of  organiza¬ 
tion,  or  the  authoritative  recommendation  of  any  special  topics  or  pro¬ 
cedure,  which  should  tend  to  mechanise  instruction  in  the  colleges.  We 
are  overorganized,  over -businesslike  already.  I  venture  to  suggest  that 
a  great  danger  in  the  Report  of  the  Committee  lies  precisely  in  thrs  point. 
If  its  recommendations  are  over-stringent,  rf  the  freest  play  is  not  allowed 
to  the  instructor’s  personal  training  and  individual  capacity,  we  shall  be 
out  of  the  frying  pan  into  the  fire.”^ 

1  Several  correspondents  would  like  to  have  information  as  to  particular  questions 
with  reference  to  the  first  year’s  course — as,  for  example,  the  preferred  order  of  presen- 
ation  of  the  various  topics  in  the  course,  whether  introductory  experimental  work 
hould  begin  with  bare  sense-experiments,  how  far  psychologists  feel  an  unsatisfactory 


68 


E.  C.  SANFORD 


Recommendations.  The  Committee  has  no  such  idea  of  its 
function  as  that  implied  in  the  warning  of  our  colleagues  who 
penned  extracts  XI  and  XII  above.  It  does  not  desire  to  be 
responsible  for  an  average  course  or  to  standardize  the  courses 
now  given.  It  agrees  unreservedly  with  the  writer  of  extract 
XII  that  the  best  way  in  which  to  secure  good  courses  in  psy¬ 
chology  is  to  select  well  trained  men  and  give  them  a  free 
hand.  Good  teaching  is  an  art  and  the  teacher  must  be 
assured  the  artist’s  freedom.  The  Committee’s  function,  as 
we  conceive  it,  is  not  to  establish  norms  of  any  sort,  but  to 
formulate  more  clearly  certain  ideals  on  which  many  or  all  of 
those  teaching  psychology  are  already  agreed,  to  point  out 
means  by  which  these  can  in  some  measure  be  realized,  and 
finally  to  recommend  to  the  Association  such  action  as  will 
assist  those  who  care  to  work  in  the  direction  suggested. 

The  ideal  which  the  Committee  desires  to  formulate  and 
for  which  it  hopes  the  endorsement  of  the  Association  is  that 
of  the  fullest  possible  acquaintance  on  the  part  of  the  student 
with  the  concrete  facts  of  consciousness  as  the  rational  basis 
for  a  knowledge  of  psychology — an  ideal  which  has  been 
frequently  mentioned  by  our  correspondents  and  which  is 
shared  we  believe  by  all  or  almost  all  of  our  colleagues.  As 
means  to  this  end  the  Committee  urges,  as  indicated  above, 
the  fullest  use  of  demonstrations  and  class  experiments,  given 
always  in  such  a  way  that  the  student  shall  not  fail  to  grasp 
their  psychological  meaning,  and  the  development  of  the 
scheme  of  simple  home  experiments  and  introspections  already 
in  tentative  use  by  at  least  two  of  our  colleagues. 

In  furtherance  of  these  ends  it  recommends  to  the  Associa¬ 
tion  the  formation  of  two  permanent  committees,  one  on 
Demonstrations  and  Class  Experiments  and  another  on  Psy¬ 
chological  Experiments  Outside  the  Laboratory.  The  func¬ 
tions  of  the  first  should  be  to  publish  from  time  to  time  in 
some  one  of  the  psychological  journals,  first  a  classified  bibli¬ 
ography  of  such  good  demonstrations  and  class  experiments 

tendency  toward  practicality  in  the  students  which  come  to  them  from  pedagogy,  and 
how  far  they  still  suffer  from  a  tendency  of  philosophers  to  dominate  the  departments 
to  which  the  psychological  courses  belong. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES  WITH  LABORATORIES 


69 


as  already  exist  in  readily  accessible  literature,  second  to 
collect  and  publish  in  full  in  the  same  way  directions  for  mak¬ 
ing  such  demonstrations  and  class  experiments  as  are  found 
only  in  relatively  inaccessible  literature,  and  third  to  collect 
and  publish  in  the  same  way  similar  demonstrations,  experi¬ 
ments  and  descriptions  of  demonstrational  apparatus  as 
are  now  in  use  in  American  laboratories  and  as  yet  unpub¬ 
lished.  (Several  of  our  correspondents  have  already  signified 
their  willingness  to  contribute  to  such  a  collection.^)  The 
Committee  on  Experiments  Outside  the  Laboratory  should 
undertake  the  same  functions  with  reference  to  their  particular 
topic.  Our  purpose  in  suggesting  that  these  committees  be 
made  permanent  is  that  they  may  be  given  time  to  work 
slowly  at  the  material  to  be  gathered  and  publish  from  time 
to  time  as  it  is  collected  without  producing  at  once,  or  waiting 
for,  anything  approaching  a  complete  exploitation  of  the 
field;  and  that  the  experiments  and  demonstrations  which 
they  publish  may  be  kept  up  to  date. 

THE  FIRST  YEAR  IN  THE  LABORATORY. 

In  the  half  dozen  or  more  institutions  in  which  parallel 
introductory  courses  are  offered,  it  is  possible  for  the  student 
to  begin  the  subject  of  psychology  with  its  experimental 
aspect.  But  even  in  these  cases  it  is  exceptional  that  a  student 
enters  the  laboratory  before  he  has  taken  the  general  intro¬ 
ductory  course,  though  the  two  courses  are  sometimes  carried 
at  the  same  time.  In  all  other  institutions  where  laboratory 
work  is  given  at  all,  it  follows  an  introductory  course.  The 
first  laboratory  course  usually  runs  through  a  full  year  though 
in  some  instances  it  is  given  in  a  single  semester. 

The  preferred  size  of  laboratory  sections  is  ten  or  under, 
though  in  some  institutions,  where  the  work  has  been  thor¬ 
oughly  systematized  larger  sections  (up  to  30)  are  handled 
by  the  instructor  with  one  or  more  assistants.  Practical 

1  We  would  suggest  for  membership  on  this  latter  committee  our  colleagues  Professor 
J.  E.  Lough  of  New  York  University  and  Professor  Margaret  Floy  Washburn  of  Vassar 
College  who  have  already  used  with  success  the  methods  in  question. 


70 


E.  C.  SANFORD 


reasons,  especially  the  cost  of  much  duplicating  of  apparatus, 
make  it  necessary  in  most  cases  where  the  laboratory  sections 
are  at  all  numerous,  for  different  groups  to  work  at  different 
problems,  but  some  instructors  in  beginning  the  laboratory 
course  have  all  the  students  work  at  the  same  problem  at  the 
same  time  until  several  problems  have  been  covered;  and  in 
exceptional  circumstances  it  has  been  found  best  to  carry  this 
method  through  the  major  part  or  even  the  whole  of  the 
beginner’s  course. 

After  a  year  or  so  of  laboratory  practice  several  teachers 
set  students  at  repeating  experiments  from  research  literature 
or  assign  them  minor  research  problems  under  supervision. 
It  is  rare,  however,  that  this  can  be  done  within  the  first  year. 

In  the  institutions  in  question  the  number  of  rooms  used 
for  laboratory  purposes  ranges  from  i  to  32,  but  in  the  latter 
case  of  course  many  rooms  are  included  which  are  not  used  for 
the  first  year’s  laboratory  courses.  The  most  frequent  num¬ 
ber  mentioned  is  5,  and  half  of  all  reporting  give  numbers 
from  2  to  7.  In  tw'o  institutions  the  laboratory  consists  of 
one  room  only  though  in  one  of  these  cases  other  rooms  may 
be  used  in  time  of  need. 

In  equipment  most  of  the  laboratories  supplying  informa¬ 
tion  (about  two  dozen)  are  at  least  fairly  equipped  for  the 
sort  of  work  required.  Only  three  speak  of  their  equipment 
as  inadequate,  and  one  of  these  is  just  starting. 

Appropriations  are  felt  to  be  inadequate  and  cramping  in 
but  four  of  twenty  eight;  and  some  small  laboratories  are 
able,  by  economy  and  by  concentrating  research  upon  a 
single  topic  at  a  time,  to  do  work  of  excellent  quality,  both 
practice  work  and  research,  with  the  expenditure  of  rela¬ 
tively  small  sums. 

With  reference  to  the  constitution  of  the  first  year’s  labora¬ 
tory  course  there  is  a  wide  spread  diversity.  Eclectic  courses 
are  common  and  it  is  once  or  twice  remarked  that  the  course 
is  varied  from  year  to  year  or  should  be  adaptable  to  the  needs 
of  the  students  taking  it.  It  must  often  be  limited  also  by 
the  equipment,  or  even  the  physical  situation,  of  the  labora¬ 
tory. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES  WITH  LABORATORIES 


71 


The  data  collected  with  reference  to  the  first  year’s  work 
in  the  laboratory,  while  it  shows  that  most  of  the  laboratories 
reporting  are  in  a  fairly  prosperous  condition  is  sufficient  to 
to  justify  the  Committee  in  but  a  single  recommendation. 

Recommendation.  In  view  of  the  diversity  of  interest, 
requirement  and  possibility  the  Committee  looks  with  favor 
upon  the  suggestion  of  one  of  its  correspondents  that  a  labora¬ 
tory  course  should  be  prepared  on  the  principle  of  the  “loose 
leaf”  courses  now  used  for  elementary  laboratory  work  in 
other  sciences,  by  means  of  which  an  instructor  can  vary  his 
course  with  ease  and  within  wide  limits.  The  preparation  of 
such  a  course  is  not  the  work  of  the  Association  nor  of  a  com¬ 
mittee  working  under  its  authority,  but  we  suggest  that,  if 
so  moved,  the  Association  might  further  such  an  undertaking 
by  expressing  its  official  approval  of  the  plan. 


J 


LABORATORY  COURSES  AND  EQUIPMENT  IN  PSY¬ 
CHOLOGY  FOR  COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES. 


By  James  R.  Angell. 

University  of  Chicago. 


The  two  points  in  our  educational  system  at  which  advice 
is  most  often  sought  concerning  the  equipment  of  a  labora¬ 
tory  for  psychology  are  the  normal  school  and  the  small 
college  each  with  a  modest  appropriation  at  disposal  for  the 
purchase  of  apparatus.  The  normal  schools  are  treated  in 
another  part  of  this  general  report.  The  comments  which 
follow  are  directed  to  the  consideration  of  collegiate  institu¬ 
tions  which  possess  no  equipment  in  psychology  or  to  those 
whose  equipment  is  small  and  who  may  contemplate  either 
systematic  or  occasional  enlargement.  What  is  said  of 
research  pertains  primarily  to  the  larger  universities,  but  it 
is  included  with  brevity  for  completeness  sake.  Such  insti¬ 
tutions  ordinarily  require  little  advice  and  would  be  slow  to 
accept  it,  even  if  it  were  needed. 

MEANS  AND  ENDS  OF  LABORATORY  WORK. 

Laboratory  work  in  psychology  may  be  designed  to  meet 
any  one  of  several  distinct  aims  of  which  three  may  be  men¬ 
tioned.  (i)  It  may  be  desired  to  offer  students  laboratory 
methods  primarily  as  a  means  of  aiding  them  to  attain  direct, 
personal  contact  with  psychological  materials,  to  assist  them 
in  introspective  observation  and  in  general  to  supply  them 
with  a  technique  for  discovering  facts  about  mental  processes 
and  for  arranging  and  presenting  these  facts  when  obtained. 
(2)  Another  proper  aim  of  laboratory  work,  which  includes 
but  goes  beyond  the  one  first  described,  is  that  of  furnishing 
students  immediate  acquaintance  with  the  apparatus  and 
methods  by  which  important  facts  have  been  determined  and 


LABORATORIES  AND  EQUIPMENT 


73 


significant  principles  established.  When  the  opportunities 
of  a  well-equipped  laboratory  are  improved  to  the  utmost 
in  this  direction,  students  not  only  secure  an  excellent  drill 
in  general  scientific  method,  but  they  also  gain  the  ability 
to  estimate  with  confidence  and  independence  the  relative 
reliability  and  certainty  of  specific  types  of  procedure.  In 
other  words  they  begin  to  achieve  scientific  judgment.  (3) 
A  third  aim  is  that  of  research,  together  with  the  giving  of  a 
thorough  training  in  experimental  technique  as  a  preliminary 
for  it.  Many  other  purposes  may  be  involved  from  time  to 
time,  but  these  three  alone  afford  grounds  for  very  consider¬ 
able  diversity  in  the  equipment  required  for  their  realization 
the  first  differing  much  more  from  the  latter  two  than  they 
differ  from  one  another. 

The  first  aim  demands  much  the  least  pretentious  outfit  of 
materials  and  may  be  attained  with  large  success  on  the  basis 
of  a  very  slender  equipment,  such  as  can  be  secured  at  trivial 
expense.  The  exercises  in  introspection  which  certain  of 
our  texts  now  contain  and  the  ground  covered  in  one  or  two 
manuals  at  present  on  the  market  well  supply  the  need  for 
work  of  this  kind.  To  be  sure  many  of  these  exercises  could 
not  be  called  strictly  experimental  in  character  inasmuch  as 
they  simply  invite  attention  to  certain  facts  open  to  casual 
observation.  But  they  shade  over  into  a  more  genuinely 
experimental  procedure  by  indiscernible  gradations  and  for 
our  present  purposes  they  may  well  be  ranked  as  experi¬ 
mental. 

So  far  as  our  reports  enable  us  to  judge,  the  results  gained 
by  this  type  of  work  have  been  most  salutary  both  in  convey¬ 
ing  a  just  impression  of  experimental  method  and  in  stimulat¬ 
ing  appreciation  for  direct  psychological  information.  Teach¬ 
ing  institutions  of  all  kinds  in  which  psychology  is  repre¬ 
sented  may  well  be  urged  to  make  use  of  the  possibilities  of 
work  of  this  sort.  It  must  not  be  exaggerated  in  importance 
as  in  any  way  taking  the  place  of  the  varieties  of  work  still 
to  be  described.  It  is  in  no  sense  justly  to  be  considered  as  in 
competition  with  them.  It  supplies  a  different  need  for  a 
different  constituency.  But  it  can  hardly  be  neglected  by 


74 


JAMES  R.  AN  CELL 


any  instructor  who  desires  his  students  to  secure  vital  ideas 
of  the  character  of  psychological  facts.  Every  good  teacher 
has  used  it  more  or  less  since  the  beginning  of  the  experi¬ 
mental  movement.  It  deserves,  however,  to  be  employed  in 
the  most  effective  manner  possible  and  for  this  result  much 
intelligent  planning  is  necessary.  Formal  apparatus  although 
distinctly  useful  is  altogether  secondary.  In  any  case,  whether 
with  or  without  apparatus,  the  procedure  is  designed  to  bring 
out  the  rudimentary  mental  phenomena,  such  as  those  of  the 
various  sense  experiences,  attention,  memory,  imagery,  feeling 
and  the  like. 

In  this  connection  should  be  mentioned  also  the  class  experi¬ 
ment  which  shares  with  this  form  of  procedure  just  mentioned 
the  essential  aims  designated  but  attempts  to  reach  its  ends 
by  methods  that  permit  the  class  to  work  as  a  group,  thus 
economizing  the  time  of  the  instructor  and  the  expense  of  pro¬ 
viding  assistants  such  as  are  usually  required  for  the  super¬ 
vision  of  laboratory  exercises.  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss 
the  merits  and  defects  of  this  method.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
experience  has  shown  conclusively  that  much  can  be  done  in 
this  way  to  give  accurate  impressions  of  experimental  method 
and  not  a  little  can  be  accomplished  in  the  actual  disclosure 
of  unfamiliar  psychological  fact.  The  manipulation  of  psy¬ 
chological  data  can  also  be  effectively  taught  or  at  least  illus¬ 
trated  in  this  way. 

The  use  of  demonstrational  materials  of  all  sorts  may  well 
be  mentioned  here.  Of  the  value  of  such  devices  when 
properly  employed  there  can  be  no  question  whatever.  The 
verdict  of  experience  is  unequivocal  on  the  matter.  They 
add  to  the  interest  of  the  class,  increase  the  breadth  of  out¬ 
look  and  linger  firmly  in  the  memory  by  virtue  of  the  vivid¬ 
ness  of  the  experience  which  generally  attends  their  use. 
They  suffer  from  the  danger  of  incompetent  use  as  do  other 
meritorious  means  of  instruction.  If  they  are  not  used  so 
as  definitely  to  assist  the  mastery  of  the  matters  immediately 
in  hand,  if  they  are  introduced  so  as  to  constitute  a  diversion, 
if  they  are  used  with  so  much  frequency  that  the  main  impres¬ 
sion  conveyed  by  the  course  is  one  of  a  vaudeville  character^ 


LABORATORIES  AND  EQUIPMENT 


75 


they  are  not  likely  to  prove  anything  but  disintegrating  to 
the  final  result. 

The  second  main  aim  above  mentioned,  i.e.,  systematic 
training  with  classical  forms  of  apparatus,  requires  for  its 
complete  realization  a  large  and  relatively  expensive  equip¬ 
ment  of  apparatus.  Such  a  collection  must  keep  abreast  of 
the  time  and  must  be  well  supplied  with  the  classical  pieces 
of  apparatus  many  of  which  are  inevitably  costly.  But  the 
expense  brings  a  fine  return  to  the  student  fortunate  enough 
to  be  trained  in  such  a  laboratory  by  a  man  conversant  with 
his  field  and  enthusiastic  in  its  cultivation.  No  other  means 
can  afford  so  firm  a  grip  upon  psychological  science.  For  a 
laboratory  established  with  this  second  aim  in  view  a  really 
good  shop  is  of  the  very  highest  value  and  some  sort  of  place 
for  minor  tinkering  is  absolutely  indispensable. 

The  most  perplexing  problem  which  institutions  have  to 
face  in  the  matter  of  equipping  for  work  in  psychology  is 
found  in  cases,  which  come  fairly  under  the  second  main 
heading,  where  funds  enough  are  available  to  permit  some 
measure  of  freedom  in  purchasing  apparatus,  but  where  not 
enough  is  at  hand  to  allow  any  completeness  in  outfitting. 
The  question  at  once  arises  what  to  secure.  It  may  be  a  part 
of  the  later  work  of  this  committee  or  its  successor  to  make 
explicit  suggestions  toward  combinations  of  apparatus  where 
such  conditions  prevail.  If  so,  no  doubt  such  suggestion 
will  be  forthcoming.  At  present  only  a  few  comments  on 
alternative  courses  will  be  offered. 

One  possible  line  of  action  involves  a  selection  from  among 
the  various  pieces  of  apparatus  of  such  as  may  be  thought  best 
fitted  to  convey  a  generally  accurate  impression  of  the  scope 
and  character  of  experimental  work.  In  this  case  personal 
preference  as  to  lines  of  work  to  be  emphasized  will  naturally 
differ.  The  private  interests  of  the  instructor  will  inevitably, 
and  perhaps  properly,  dominate  the  choices.  Such  a  collec¬ 
tion  will  be  frankly  imperfect,  but  it  will  not  be  wholly  one¬ 
sided. 

Another  line  of  procedure  contemplates  the  selection  of  one 
special  field  of  work,  such  for  instance  as  that  of  vision,  and 


76 


JAMES  R.  ANGELL 


the  making  of  the  most  perfect  possible  collection  of  appara¬ 
tus  designed  to  permit  thorough  exploration  and  demonstra¬ 
tion  of  all  the  features  of  that  field.  This  course  will  inevit¬ 
ably  leave  one  with  a  collection  quite  unrepresentative  of  the 
general  experimental  situation,  but  it  will  enable  the  giving 
of  thorough  training  in  some  one  direction,  it  will  ordinarily 
permit  the  undertaking  of  stimulating  research  and,  inasmuch 
as  the  technique  of  scientific  method  is  highly  similar  in  many 
fields  of  endeavor,  it  will  render  possible  a  very  satisfactory 
training  in  experimentation.  Certainly  the  advantages  of 
this  choice  for  the  expenditure  of  funds  in  cases  where  the 
amount  at  disposal  is  quite  limited,  deserve  much  more  atten¬ 
tion  than  has  commonly  been  given  them.  In  combination 
with  the  possibilities  of  the  first  general  type  of  procedure 
described  above  where  little  or  no  apparatus  is  required,  it 
offers  opportunity  for  most  striking  results. 

When  we  come  to  speak  of  our  third  aim,  i.e.,  research  we, 
find  ourselves  confronted  by  divergencies  similar  to  those 
which  we  have  just  discussed.  It  may  be  laid  down  as  a 
general  axiom  that  an  ideal  research  laboratory  should  be 
equipped  to  afford  the  best  and  most  symmetrical  training 
of  a  disciplinary  kind  such 'as  has  been  considered  under  the 
immediately  preceding  heading.  In  point  of  fact,  however, 
much  good  work  has  come  from  laboratories  where  very 
different  conditions  prevail.  Successful  investigation  is  of 
course  partly  a  matter  of  resources,  but  it  is  much  more 
largely  a  matter  of  the  man  conducting  it:  it  has  at  its  best 
the  spark  of  genius  in  it  and  all  attempts  to  reduce  it  to  rules 
or  restrictions  are  futile  and  fatuous.  Nevertheless,  we  may 
certainly  recognize  those  conditions  under  which  it  is  most 
likely  to  flourish  and  attempt  to  secure  them  where  possible. 

In  America  the  general  tendency  has  been  to  precede  research 
work  by  a  course  affording  not  only  a  general  survey  of  the 
field  of  experimentation,  but  also  actual  drill  in  the  execution 
of  experiments  in  the  several  principal  fields  of  scientific 
interest  and  accomplishment.  Elsewhere  a  different  pro¬ 
cedure  has  often  been  followed.  Research  has  been  attempted 
on  the  basis  of  a  very  narrow  acquaintance  at  first  hand  with 


LABORATORIES  AND  EQUIPMENT 


77 


the  general  experimental  field,  A  period  of  service  as  reagent 
for  some  other  student’s  research,  together  with  a  preliminary 
training  of  a  theoretical  kind  in  lecture  or  recitation  room, 
has  been  the  only  introduction  required  for  the  beginning  of 
original  investigation.  It  must  be  admitted  that  not  a  little 
excellent  work  has  been  achieved  on  this  latter  basis,  but  it  is 
certainly  safe  to  say  that  the  first  method  is  the  only  one  to 
be  encouraged  where  means  are  at  hand  to  permit  its  estab¬ 
lishment. 

The  laboratory  adequate  both  for  general  training  and  for 
original  investigation  is  extremely  expensive  and  is  not  to  be 
thought  of  save  by  a  few  of  the  stronger  and  wealthier  insti¬ 
tutions,  When  its  advantages  are  well  used  it  represents  the 
most  effective  organization  for  our  work.  But  every  one  who 
has  lived  in  one  of  these  large  laboratories  knows  full  well 
the  dangers  which  always  lurk  to  ensnare  the  unwary.  The 
very  riches  of  the  place  may  contribute  to  lassitude  and  to  a 
dangerous  sense  of  competency  which  is  justified  by  no  real 
attainments.  The  equipment  too  is  likely  to  suffer  from 
failure  to  clean  it  out  often  enough.  A  good  bonfire  should 
be  an  attachment  of  every  large  laboratory  and  on  it  should 
be  offered  up  each  year  the  rubbish  which  gradually  accumu¬ 
lates,  which  has  no  historic  value  and  which  often  misleads 
the  tyro  into  cherishing  respect  for  that  which  should  only  be 
forgotten.  Fortunate  the  laboratory  where  only  those  things 
are  cherished  which  are  really  used  and  which  really  deserve 
preservation. 

In  connection  with  a  research  laboratory  a  good  shop  with  a 
competent  mechanic  in  charge  is  one  of  the  most  important 
assets.  The  efficiency  of  such  an  establishment  is  increased 
many  fold  by  this  feature.  Some  of  our  laboratory  directors 
have  appreciated  this  fact  and  invested  what  might  seem  to 
the  uninitiated  a  disproportionate  part  of  their  funds  in  this 
direction.  But  while  it  is  no  doubt  possible  to  equip  a  shop 
too  luxuriously,  the  lack  of  an  effective  shop  is  one  of  the 
most  serious  handicaps  which  a  laboratory  for  research  can 
labor  under. 


78 


JAMES  R.  AN  CELL 


PLACE  OF  EXPERIMENTAL  COURSES  IN  THE  CURRICULUM. 

Experimental  training  under  our  first  heading  evidently 
finds  its  place  in  connection  with  the  beginner’s  course  and 
the  location  of  this  in  the  college  work  is  discussed  elsewhere 
in  this  report.  The  case  of  experimental  courses  differen¬ 
tiated  from  the  elementary  work  offers  a  more  difficult  problem. 
It  is  the  almost  universal  practice,  where  such  courses  are 
given,  to  insist  upon  the  taking  of  the  elementary  course  in 
general  psychology  before  entering  on  this  work.  If  this 
prerequisite  is  enforced,  the  place  of  the  experimental  courses 
is  forthwith  settled.  In  most  institutions  this  would  in  effect 
limit  the  patronage  of  the  experimental  work  to  the  junior 
and  senior  years.  Experience  suggests  one  conclusion  about 
the  matter  which  seems  worthy  of  formulation.  If  the  patron¬ 
age  is  open  to  very  young  students,  it  is  difficult  for  a  labora¬ 
tory  course  in  psychology  to  compete  with  other  college 
courses  of  an  attractive  kind  without  lowering  the  scientific 
severity  and  rigor  of  the  work  to  a  point  where  its  solidity 
and  worth  must  suffer  in  the  eyes  of  the  better  students. 
Many  instructors  prefer  the  most  mature  students  possible 
in  order  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  thus  cheapening  the  work 
to  carry  the  full  interest  of  the  class.  Whether  this  situation 
arises  from  incompetent  teaching,  from  failure  as  yet  to 
develop  satisfactory  methods  of  presenting  the  subject  matter, 
or  from  the  intrinsic  character  of  the  material,  whose  appre¬ 
ciation  requires  a  certain  sobriety  of  interest  and  a  certain 
maturity  of  intelligence,  in  any  case  the  conclusion  just  indi¬ 
cated  is  an  expression  of  the  experience  of  many  instructors. 
A  course  can  be  given  which  shall  be  entertaining  and  moder¬ 
ately  informing  without  straining  the  student’s  tenacity 
unduly.  But  if  the  work  is  made  to  contribute  in  a  sub¬ 
stantial  way  to  the  mastery  of  adequate  technique  and  to 
the  achievement  of  accuracy  and  thoroughness,  the  tax  on 
student  patience  is  greater  than  most  young  undergraduates 
will  endure.  In  general  it  may  be  said,  then,  that  experi¬ 
mental  courses  beyond  the  elementary  course  which  may  well 
contain  some  experimental  material,  should  come  late  in  the 


LABORATORIES  AND  EQUIPMENT 


79 


college  curriculum.  For  students  who  plan  to  go  at  once  into 
graduate  work  of  a  psychological  kind,  this  arrangement  is 
apparently  a  disadvantage.  But  for  the  rank  and  file  this 
disposition  of  the  case  is  undoubtedly  best  and,  even  in  the 
case  of  the  would-be  specialist,  it  may  well  be  urged  that  his 
time  as  an  undergraduate  can  be  better  employed  in  lines 
contributory  to  his  general  training  than  in  a  too  early  and 
narrow  specializing. 


GENERAL  REPORT  ON  THE  TEACHING  OF  THE 
ELEMENTARY  COURSE  IN  PSYCHOLOGY: 
RECOMMENDATIONS. 

By  C.  E.  Seashore. 

University  of  Iowa. 


Be  it  said  once  for  all  that  this  committee  regards  it  neither 
feasible  nor  desirable  to  recommend  any  one  system  ofpsy- 
chology,  any  fixed  mode  of  treatment,  or  any  exclusive  set 
of  aids  to  instruction.  The  content,  the  method,  and  the 
means  of  instruction  must  vary  with  the  preparation  of  the 
teacher,  the  type  of  student,  the  place  of  the  course  in  the 
curriculum,  etc. ;  and  the  growth  of  science,  the  invention  of 
methods  and  instruments,  the  appearance  of  new  text  books, 
etc.,  make  it  necessary  to  change  the  course  from  year  to 
year. 

Nor  does  it  seem  desirable  to  make  this  general  report  a 
summary  of  the  subcommittee  reports.  The  reports  of  the 
subcommittees  have  been  worked  out  independently  and  no 
effort  has  been  made  to  harmonize  them.  We  propose  that 
all  the  reports  shall  stand  together  and  each  supplement  the 
other.  Although  this  one  is  the  general  report,  it  does  not 
represent  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  members  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  in  all  respects.  It  was  drawn  by  the  chairman  as  an 
expression  of  his  personal  views  after  careful  study  of  the  sub¬ 
committee  reports;  it  was  then  submitted  to  each  member  of 
the  committee  for  criticism  and  thereupon  revised  by  the 
writer  so  as  to  represent  the  conviction  of  a  majority  of  the 
committee  on  each  point.  The  committee  has  thus  made  no 
effort  to  speak  with  authority  for  itself  or  for  the  Associa¬ 
tion.  Although  based  upon  the  data  collected,  the  four 
reports  are  largely  personal. 


GENERAL  REPORT 


8i 


Yet  psychology  has  now  found  itself  in  American  institu¬ 
tions  sufficiently  for  us  to  take  a  provisional  inventory.  These 
reports  are  an  attempt  at  such  an  inventory  of  aims,  inter¬ 
relations,  conditions,  methods,  equipment,  etc.  The  com¬ 
mittee  hopes  that  they  may  stimulate  interchange  of  ideas 
on  the  subject  and  prove  a  starting  point  for  further  coopera¬ 
tion  toward  the  development  of  the  teaching  of  that  subject 
which  is  the  foundation  for  all  the  science  and  art  of  teaching. 

A  word  of  apology  must  be  made  for  the  terse,  brush,  and 
hortatory  style.  It  has  been  followed  in  the  interest  of 
brevity  and  clearness,  and  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating  dis¬ 
cussion.  There  is  hardly  a  statement  that  should  not  be 
qualified  to  meet  special  circumstances,  and  much  is  contro¬ 
versial  ;  but  an  explanation  of  this  at  every  point  would  leave 
the  report  unnecessarily  cumbersome.  The  general  scope  and 
form  of  this  report  was  determined  by  the  purpose  of  setting 
forth  a  series  of  propostions,  or  tenets,  for  discussion  in  the 
Association.  The  aim  has  been  to  set  out  a  few  fundamental 
principles  in  systematic  relief. 

I.  AIM. 

(A)  Teach  Psychology. 

Strange  to  say,  this  is  the  one  exhortation  most  needed  today.  While 
only  a  few  schools  lag  in  the  old  rut  and  teach  antiquated  systems  of 
philosophy  in  the  name  of  psychology,  the  common  error  today  is  to 
ramble  from  the  study  of  mental  processes  as  such  into  sense  physiology, 
moralizing,  loose  pedagogy,  or  logical  quibble. 

The  first  course  in  psychology  should  be  essentially  the  same 
in  content  and  method  whether  it  is  taken  merely  for  general 
culture,  as  a  foundation  for  philosophical  studies,  or  in  prep¬ 
aration  for  specific  vocations;  such  as,  education,  theology, 
art,  law,  or  medicine. 

I.  Teaching  psychology  strictly  as  a  science  in  itself  lays 
the  best  foundation  for  the  final  mastery  of  the  relationships 
and  applications  of  psychology. 

The  laying  of  such  a  broad  foundation  for  philosophy  and  the  numerous 
applications  of  psychology  frees  the  teachers  of  all  those  subjects  from 
the  wasteful  drudgery  of  having  to  improvise  psychological  foundations 
at  each  step  as  needed. 


82 


C.  E.  SEASHORE 


Nothing  has  been  more  potent  for  the  improvement  of  the  teaching  of 
philosophy  and  psychology  than  the  recognition  of  this  separation  for 
teaching  purposes.  The  same  will  be  seen  in  medicine  when  normal 
psychology  is  required  as  a  preparation  for  the  study  of  psychiatry,  and 
has  been  clearly  demonstrated  in  the  recent  development  in  the  teaching 
of  educational  psychology. 

Supplementary  instruction  on  the  relation  of  physiology,  logic,  ethics, 
philosophy,  etc.,  to  psychology  may,  and  usually  should,  be  put  into  the 
course,  but  only  when  it  is  made  clear  that  it  is  not  psychology. 

2.  In  the  first  course  the  applications  should  be  incidental 
and  should  be  distributed  among  different  aspects  of  daily 
life  with  a  view  to  the  broadening  of  the  mental  perspective 
of  the  student;  as,  in  education,  medicine,  science,  art,  law, 
literature,  philosophy,  religion,  business,  play,  labor,  etc. 

In  a  sustained  illustration  of  the  formation  of  associations  in  type¬ 
writing,  e.  g.,  the  aim  is  not  the  pedagogy  of  typewriting,  but  the  psy¬ 
chology  of  associations  which  enter  into  a  thousand  similar  processes;  in 
an  illustration  of  suggestion,  by  a  realistic  case  of  mental  healing,  the  aim 
is  not  to  teach  the  art  of  mental  healing,  but  the  laws  of  suggestion  which 
operate  in  countless  similar  situations,  and  to  vitalize  and  give  relief  to 
a  set  of  psychological  facts  in  one  coherent  illustration. 

{B)  Yet  not  psychology  hut  to  psychologize. 

This  does  not  mean  that  we  should  aim  to  make  psychologists  any 
more  than  that  a  good  first  course  in  rhetoric  should  make  a  literary 
artist  or  the  first  course  in  chemistry  a  chemist,  nor  does  it  mean  that 
the  elementary  student  should  be  taught  by  the  research  method. 

The  primary  aim  is  to  train  the  student  in  the  observation 
and  explanation  of  mental  facts.  Other  aims  are  secondary, 
such  as: 

1.  Systematic  knowledge  of  mental  facts. 

In  some  respects  this  may  be  coordinate  with  the  primary  aim  but 
there  is  great  danger  of  mere  nominal  knowledge. 

2.  Culture:  the  ability  to  interpret  life. 

Ability  in  interpretation  is  the  most  fundamental  element  in  culture; 
with  the  knowledge  of  fact  there  must  be  the  ability  to  judge  for  one’s 
self. 

3.  Efficiency:  the  ability  to  act  effectively. 

Efficiency  and  culture  may  be  one;  the  distinction  is  here  made  for  the 
purpose  of  emphasizing  the  two  aspects. 


GENERAL  REPORT 


83 


4.  Appreciation  of  mental  life  for  itself,  which  is  the  basis 
for  the  recognition  of  its  worth  and  manifold  bearings. 

“The  world  is  different  to  me  since  I  studied  psychology,  ”  is  a  charac¬ 
teristic  and  proper  remark  of  students. 

5.  A  foundation  for  the  philosophical  studies. 

The  science  of  psychology  furnishes  the  observable  facts  which  con¬ 
stitute  a  starting  point  for  philosophy,  logic,  ethics,  esthetics,  etc. 

6.  A  supplement  to  the  material  sciences. 

Psychology  is  a  study  of  the  nature  of  the  knower  and  the  knowing 
process — the  mental  half  of  animate  life. 

7.  Applications. 

The  key  to  applied  psychology  is  psychology. 

The  student  does  not  really  understand  the  mental  process  until  he 
comprehends  it  in  some  of  its  actual  settings  and  uses. 

(c)  A  little  from  each  of  all  aspects  of  psychology  and  much  from 
a  few. 

1.  Give  a  balanced  general  survey  of  the  fundamentals, 
i.e.,  give  a  comprehensive  bird’s  eye  view  of  the  whole  subject 
with  reference  to  content,  point  of  view,  relations,  etc. 

2.  Give  intensive  illustrations  of  representative  facts — 
often  choosing  insignificant  objects  in  order  that  the  grasp 
may  be  the  more  complete. 

II.  METHOD. 

{A)  Secure  action. 

I .  Keep  the  student  doing  things,  instead  of  merely  listen¬ 
ing,  reading,  or  seeing  them  done. 

Fit  the  course  to  his  capacity. 

Make  him  feel  responsible  for  every  step  that  he  takes. 

Keep  him  working  under  pressure  for  accuracy  and  detail. 

Make  sure  that  he  has  the  means  for  complying  with  every  request. 

Recognize  results. 

Even  if  he  is  to  be  entertained  in  the  course,  let  it  be  most  frequently 
by  his  own  activity. 


84 


C.  E.  SEASHORE 


2.  Let  there  be  dramatic  action  in  the  progressive  realiza¬ 
tion  of  stages  in  the  course. 

Use  concrete  illustrations  from  the  living  present. 

Show  the  meaning  of  each  new  process  with  reference  to  the  whole. 

Make  sure  that  the  student  can  follow  the  development. 

{B)  Be  systematic. 

1.  Keep  a  definite  and  detailed  outline  (printed  or  mimeo¬ 
graphed) — of  the  whole  course  in  the  hands  of  each  student. 

This  will  aid  in:  {a)  logical  development,  economy,  and  proper  distri¬ 
bution  of  emphasis;  {b)  preparation  and  following,  economically  and 
effectively,  a  specific  set  of  references;  (c)  the  orientation  of  the  student 
so  that  he  may  see  each  day  the  relation  of  each  new  process  to  what  has 
gone  before  and  what  is  to  follow;  {d)  establishing  confidence  of  the 
student  in  the  teacher  and  in  himself;  and  (e),  in  short,  business  method 
and  mental  economy. 

2.  Be  reasonable  and  specific  in  all  assignments  and  de¬ 
mand  results. 

Set  your  task  so  that  it  may  be  performed  when  the  assignment  is  made, 
and  so  that  you  may  have  constant  information  about  fidelity  in  work 
and  the  quality  of  results.  The  sophomore  is  an  elementary  student 
and  psychology  is  necessarily  somewhat  abstract.  Nearly  every  young 
teacher  makes  the  mistake  of  treating  this  elementary  class  by  the 
method  of  which  he  has  become  enamored  as  a  graduate  student.  There 
should  be  a  radical  difference  in  the  methods  of  the  elementary  course 
and  following  courses  in  psychology.  It  is  absurd  to  treat  the  sophomore 
in  psychology  as  a  research  student. 

Insist  upon  the  mastering  of  difficulties.  One  of  the  greatest  wastes 
in  college  teaching  is  that  we  allow  the  student  to  shift  when  he  encoun¬ 
ters  difficulty.  Show  him  where  the  difliculty  lies,  spur  him  on,  and 
hold  him  to  the  task. 

Place  responsibility. 

3.  Follow  as  far  as  possible  the  following  order  : 

{a)  From  the  simple  to  the  complex;  e.  g.,  sensation,  per¬ 
ception,  memory,  thinking. 

The  principle,  “from  whole  to  part”  is  recognized  only  for  the  purpose 
of  orientation  (see  II.  (d)  2,  second  note  above)  not  for  determining  the 
order  of  topics. 

{b)  From  the  known  to  the  unknown;  e.  g.,  from  the 
common  act  of  seeing,  lead  up  to  the  attributes  of  sensation. 


GENERAL  REPORT 


8S 


(c)  The  course  in  the  stream  of  thought;  e.  g.,  impression, 
elaboration,  expression, 

(C)  Use  methods  which  develop  efficiency  in  introspection, 
observation,  thinking  and  action. 

Methods  must,  of  course,  be  adapted  to  the  instructor,  the 
equipment,  the  student,  etc.;  and  all  methods  chosen  must 
be  pursued  with  sufficient  continuity  to  secure  solid  work. 
Method  without  personal  power  is  worthless.  Among  the 
methods  available  for  our  purpose  are  the  following: 

1.  The  text  book.  Text  books  should  be  the  source  of 
information  and  should  be  used  very  freely. 

In  the  first  year  course  of  three  hours,  the  student  cannot  afford  to 
get  along  with  less  than  three  or  four  ordinary  text  books  for  his  private 
use,  in  addition  to  library  sets  to  which  he  has  access. 

(It  is  very  doubtful  economy  for  a  student  to  spend  a  year  on  one  or 
at  most  two  text  books,  or  to  go  on  aimless  hunt  in  original  sources  before 
he  knows  what  he  wants.  Those  “lecturers,  ”  who  recite  the  contents  of 
the  book  to  the  students  in  order  to  save  them  the  price  of  the  book,  are 
too  extravagant.) 

The  student  can  get  more  good  in  a  course  from  extensive  use  of  text 
books  than  from  more  specialized  reference  work,  because  the  text  is  pre¬ 
pared  specifically  as  an  aid  to  the  beginner.  Limited  reference  work 
should  however,  be  encouraged. 

(All  teachers  who  cannot  find  good  text  books  should  at  once  publish 
their  own!) 

We  need  a  source-book  to  use  as  one  of  the  texts. 

The  texts  in  a  course  should  represent  different  points  of  view;  e.  g.,  the 
functional,  the  structural,  the  experimental,  the  physiological,  and  the 
genetic ;  and  the  student  should  live  in  the  atmosphere  of  different  authors. 

Ordinarily,  the  text  books  should  not  be  used  as  a  basis  for  oral  recita¬ 
tion;  some  other  means  of  testing  work  must  be  found. 

Nor  should  they  be  a  constant  object  to  be  explained;  let  them  be  so 
used  that  they  help  to  explain  the  object  under  examination — perhaps 
in  the  way  we  use  an  encyclopedia. 

No  matter  what  other  means,  such  as  lectures,  experiments,  discus¬ 
sion,  etc.,  are  used  in  the  class  hour,  we  need  text  books  with  all  of  them; 
the  text  book  is  or  ought  to  be  a  most  serviceable  outline  form  of  present¬ 
ing  the  subject  as  a  whole. 

2.  The  lecture. 

The  lecture  is  one  of  the  best  means  of  personalizing  the  instruction, 
yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  ibused  methods. 


86 


C.  E.  SEASHORE 


(There  are  three  common  sources  of  error  in  a  teacher’s  evaluation  of 
the  lecture  method:  (i)  the  warmth  which  the  lecturer  feels  over  having 
made  things  clear:  (2)  the  pleasure  in  freedom  of  expression  and  in  hearing 
himself,  and  (3)  the  failure  to  note  that  he  has  done  the  thinking  so  well 
that  the  student  gladly  accepts  his  ready  made  portion  without  thinking.) 

In  the  elementar)'"  course  in  psychology  the  mere  information  lecture 
should  be  tabooed. 

Among  the  legitimate  forms  of  lecture,  for  our  purpose,  are  the  follow¬ 
ing: 

(a)  The  organizing  lecture. 

This  may  occupy  all  or  part  of  the  hour  and  may  answer  the  following 
purposes:  arousing  in  the  student  a  point  of  view,  interest,  and  ambition, 
by  setting  up  specific  objects  for  search;  outlining  relations  within  the 
work  of  the  course;  presenting  supplementary  ideas  and  concrete  illus¬ 
trations;  and,  first  and  last,  to  put  life  into  the  course. 

(b)  The  demonstration  lecture. 

The  class  demonstration  is  an  economic  method,  when  brief,  to  the 
point,  and  systematically  planned. 

Do  not  make  it  an  object  in  itself,  but  let  the  demonstration  of  a  general 
principle  in  a  specific  case  be  such  that  the  student  may  see  the  general 
principle  and  be  able  to  make  application  of  it  in  related  cases. 

(c)  The  special  topic  lecture. 

This  is  the  true  “lecture”  form;  it  may  be  set,  finished  and  artistic. 
These  lectures  give  vital  touch  to  the  study  by  focusing  attention  upon 
some  single  aspect  of  mental  life  in  the  concrete;  e.  g.,  the  psychology  of 
play,  the  formation  of  a  habit,  the  psychology  of  writing,  automatism, 
the  evolution  of  consciousness,  the  evolution  of  a  moral  instinct,  the 
meaning  of  infancy,  fear,  a  case  of  alteration  in  personality,  the  psy¬ 
chology  of  Helen  Keller,  law  in  illusion,  vantage  grounds  in  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  psychology,  etc.  Such  lectures  illuminate  the  study  of  psy¬ 
chology,  arouse  interest  and  give  the  student  the  genuine  feeling  that 
there  is  more  of  it,  and  that  it  is  all  worth  while. 

3.  Experiment. 

(a)  The  individual  experiment  without  a  laboratory.  (See  Recom¬ 
mendation  (b)  in  Sec.  VI  of  this  report.) 

This  type  of  experiment  enables  the  instructor  to  conduct  work  with 
classes  of  any  size,  without  expensive  equipment,  without  laboratory 
rooms,  or  much  help.  It  saves  the  manifolding  of  equipment;  frees  the 
student  from  technicalities  incidental  to  the  manipulation  of  apparatus 
at  a  time  when  his  energies  need  to  be  conserved  for  the  grasping  of  the 
psychological  problem;  and  saves  time  for  the  class  period. 

Secure  the  following  conditions:  (i)  make  the  experiment  intensive, — 
“One  thing  well;”  (2)  use  only  such  apparatus  as  may  be  at  the  disposal 
of  the  student,  or  can  be  supplied  freely. by  the  instructor;  e.  g.,  paper, 
pins,  cards,  corks,  watches,  etc.;  (3)  supply  full  and  specific  directions 
with  the  necessary  preliminary  statements  for  orientation;  and  (4)  follow 
each  set  in  the  experiment  with  printed  explanation,  interpretation, 
further  suggestions,  etc. 


GENERAL  REPORT 


87 


These  experiments  may  be  conducted  both  as  class  exercises  and  home 
assignments;  preferably,  both  combined. 

They  may  be  performed  in  the  ordinary  class  room,  provided  the  room 
is  equipped  with  movable  desk  chairs.  It  is  good  economy  for  the 
instructor  to  provide  for  the  whole  class  such  material  as  may  be  needed. 

(b)  The  class  experiment.  (See  Recommendation  a  in  Section  VI) 
of  this  report. 

The  class  experiment  should  comply  with  the  following  three  principles: 

(i)  every  individual  student  shall  take  an  active  and  responsible  part  in 
the  experiment;  (2)  the  experiment  shall  be  sufficiently  intensive  to  make 
it  vital;  and  (3)  each  step  in  the  experiment  shall  be  explained  and  inter¬ 
preted  in  print. 

This  is  by  far  the  most  economical  form  of  experiment,  and  psychology 
lends  itself  peculiarly  well  to  this  mode  of  treatment. 

(c)  The  laboratory  experiment. 

The  laboratory  experiment  shduld  be  employed  very  conservatively, 
if  at  all,  in  the  elementary  course,  for  the  following  reasons: 

(1)  The  student  is  not  ready  for  it.  (We  can  begin  physics  with  the 
technical  experiment,  because  in  physics  the  apparatus  is  the  one  object 
of  experiment;  but  in  the  technical  laboratory  psychology,  a  student  has 
two  objects,  namely,  the  mental  process  and  the  apparatus  to  be  manipu¬ 
lated.  He  cannot  do  justice  to  both  and  is  likely  to  lose  himself  in  the 
apparatus.) 

(2)  The  technical  laboratory  experiment  is  worth  while  only  to  those 
who  are  both  capable  and  willing  to  take  psychology  seriously.  (Most 
of  the  elementary  students  lack  one  or  both  of  these  qualifications.) 

(3)  Few,  if  any  institutions,  can  supply  adequate  laboratory  facili¬ 
ties  for  elementary  classes 

4.  Written  exercises. 

(a)  The  written  review. 

Spend  about  one-fourth  of  the  study  time  in  preparation  for  reviews. 
Cramming  is  bad  only  when  it  is  not  done  often  enough. 

One  good  plan  is  to  give  three  or  four  questions  a  week  in  advance  and 
require  the  student  to  prepare  an  outline  of  what  he  proposes  to  write  on 
each  of  the  topics.  Make  the  topics  such  that  it  will  be  necessary  to 
review  all  the  work  covered  since  the  last  review,  and  so  as  to  make  it 
necessary  for  the  student  to  organize  the  material  for  himself  in  some  form 
in  which  it  has  not  been  presented.  On  the  review  day,  let  each  student 
write  one  hour  on  one  of  the  three  questions,  following  his  outline,  and 
hand  in  all  of  the  outlines  with  the  paper. 

(b)  The  written  recitation. 

The  advantages  of  the  written  recitation  are :  it  encourages  and  secures 
systematic  analysis  of  the  test  by  the  student  when  he  is  at  ease  in  his 
room;  it  leaves  the  class-hour  for  lectures,  demonstrations,  experiments, 
and  discussion ;  it  secures  full  and  specific  recitation  from  every  student 
every  day;  it  develops  logical  presentation. 

It  is  erroneous  to  think  that  the  outline  written  recitation  requires 
much  writing.  The  best  written  recitation  requires  much  thinking  and 
very  little  writing. 


88 


C.  E.  SEASHORE 


(c)  Themes. 

Let  the  theme  be  clearly  distinguished  from  a  report  on  some  author 
or  book.  Assign  such  topics  as  will  favor  a  strictly  psychological  treat¬ 
ment  in  terms  of  the  student’s  own  observation  and  thinking,  and  pre¬ 
suppose  assigned  readings. 

(d)  Ten-minute  tests. 

These  are  an  excellent  substitute  for  the  oral  recitation  if  conducted 
with  rigidity. 

5.  Special  exercises. 

(u)  Problems  in  introspection. 

Introduce  new  topics  by  assigning,  as  a  preliminary  exercise,  some 
salient  feature  of  the  topic  for  introspection  and  report.  Use  the  same 
means  to  verify  general  statements. 

These  exercises  may  be  small  experiments,  or  they  may  be  simple 
unaided  observations  under  specific  instructions. 

(b)  Objective  observation. 

Set  problems  frequently  in  the  objective  observation  of  specific  expres¬ 
sions  of  mental  life,  mental  laws,  conditions,  causal  relations,  etc. 

(c)  Topical  questions. 

Prepare  systematic  and  exhaustive  questions  as  a  basis  for  use  as 
references  in  daily  work,  reviews,  or  even  as  a  general  skeleton  or  full  sys¬ 
tem  of  assignment  of  work  in  the  course, 

(d)  The  topical  outline. 

This  may  be  effective  in  the  same  way  and  for  the  same  purposes  as 
the  topical  questions,  and  has  the  advantage  of  brevity. 

(e)  Discussion. 

With  the  teacher  who  has  the  genius  to  handle  it,  this  is  one  of  the 
most  effective  methods  of  teaching  in  classes  of  not  more  than  twenty-five ; 
but  with  the  average  teacher  and  the  average  class,  it  often  becomes  a 
waste  of  time — an  abuse  of  privilege.  An  undeserved  approbrium  rests 
upon  this  method,  because  teachers  who  lack  resourcefulness  usually 
fall  back  upon  it.  Incidental  discussion  should  be  strongly  encouraged. 

(/)  The  conference  section. 

Here  is  where  discussion  has  its  most  valuable  place;  small  sections 
of  the  class  meet  with  the  instructor  at  regular  intervals  for  that  purpose. 
All  sorts  of  supplementary  demonstrations  and  reports  may  be  intro¬ 
duced. 

(g)  Many  other  devices  might  be  enumerated;  such  as  reports  on 
supplementary  reading,  weekly  “communications”  on  psychological 
facts  observed  during  the  week,  acting  as  observers  in  research  under  the 
instructor  or  an  advanced  student,  taking  part  in  statistical  tests,  indi¬ 
vidual  conferences,  etc. 

III.  PLACE  IN  THE  CURRICULUM. 

I.  In  the  average  American  college  or  university,  the  ele¬ 
mentary  course  in  psychology  should  be  taken  in  the  sopho¬ 
more  year. 


GENERAL  REPORT 


89 


2.  In  the  normal  school  it  should  be  taken  in  the  first  year 
after  the  high  school. 

3.  The  elementary  course  should  run  three  hours  through¬ 
out  the  year,  or  five  hours  for  one  semester.  (Or  an  equiva¬ 
lent.) 

Among  the  reasons  for  this  are  the  following: 

(a)  Psychology  is  a  very  large  subject.  It  is  at  least  as  large  as 
physics,  chemistry,  or  mathematics.  Yet,  if  a  professor  in  a  first  class 
institution  should  offer  a  one-semester  three-hour  course  as  the  first 
course  in  any  of  those  subjects,  it  would  be  regarded  with  profound  sus¬ 
picion  by  an  academic  faculty.  Psychology,  when  once  established,  will 
come  to  the  basis  of  a  solid  first  course. 

(b)  Short  courses  are  necessarily  schematic,  in  rapid  outline  form, 
and  lacking  in  concrete  illustrations  and  thorough  experiments.  The 
difference  between  the  long  and  the  short  course  is  not  only  in  quantity, 
but  very  essentially  in  quality. 

Ordinarily,  both  professors  and  students  apologize  for  the  short  course. 

(c)  Granted  that  the  student  should  have  a  certain  amount  of  psy¬ 
chology,  the  instructor  can  plan  that  much  better  in  one  course  than  the 
student  can  plan  his  work  by  choosing  from  elective  semester  courses. 

(d)  The  short  course  represents  an  erroneous  conception  of  the  magni¬ 
tude  and  worth  of  the  subject. 

(e)  If  the  year  is  divided  into  two  independent  courses,  students 
seldom  elect  the  second;  whereas,  if  it  is  all  in  one,  they  are  generally 
pleased  with  it. 

(/)  All  courses  after  the  elementary  should  be  specialized;  e.g.  com¬ 
parative  psychology,  technical  laboratory  course,  social  psychology,  etc., 
and  the  student  needs  a  thorough  foundation  for  these. 

Within  the  college  course,  there  is  no  excuse  for  giving  first  a  general 
elementary  course  and  later  a  general  advanced  course. 

(The  principal  underlying  the  above  arguments  applies  to  the  first 
course  in  philosophy  with  equal  force.) 

4.  The  course  should,  if  possible,  be  preceded  by  a  course 
in  animal  biology. 

5.  When  the  course  is  to  be  followed  by  some  form  of 
applied  psychology,  it  is  all  important  that  the  applied  psy¬ 
chology,  e.  g.,  education  or  psychiatry,  shall  be  built  actually, 
consistently,  and  unmistakably  upon  the  elementary  course 
of  psychology  as  given. 

To  the  disgrace  of  both  the  theoretical  and  the  applied  courses  it  is 
often  said  by  students  that  they  see  no  relation  between  them.  This 
correlation  is  a  large  problem  in  economy  and  efficiency. 


go 


C.  E.  SEASHORE 


IV.  EQUIPMENT. 

1.  We  must  distinguish  between  the  equipment  for  the 
elementary  course  and  the  technical  laboratory  equipment; 
the  former  may,  however,  often  be  drawn  from  the  latter. 
It  should  consist  of: 

(a)  Apparatus  for  the  demonstration  experiments. 

This  should  be  large  and  portable,  suitable  for  exhibition  rather  than 
for  fine  work. 

(b)  Apparatus  for  the  class  experiments. 

This  should  be  accurate,  adequate,  and  under  perfect  control.  The 
projection  lantern  may  be  used  to  advantage  in  several  experiments  of 
this  class, 

(c)  Supphes  for  distribution  among  the  students  in  experiments  which 
require  improvised  material. 

(d)  Equipment  for  a  few  “special  topic”  lectures  which  may  be 
experimental. 

This  is  usually  drawn  from  the  technical  laboratory  course  or  the 
research  equipment. 

(e)  A  full  set  of  illustration  material,  such  as  physiological  models, 
charts,  pictures,  etc. 

All  the  illustration  material  that  can  be  reduced  to  charts  should  be 
used  in  that  way.  Lantern  slides  should  not  be  used  when  charts  may 
answer  the  purpose. 

2.  The  elementary  lecture  room  should  be  a  well  venti¬ 
lated  and  well  lighted  hall  furnished  with  movable  desk 
chairs,  blackboards,  chart  cases,  projection  lantern,  gas, 
electric  power,  etc. 

Students  should  be  encouraged  to  work  in  this  room  when  carrying 
on  experiments  as  outside  assignments  in  order  that  they  may  get 
incidental  aid  and  supervision. 

3.  A  small  shop  with  simple  equipment  is  essential. 

4.  The  library  should  be  equipped  with  sets  of  books  to 
which  the  whole  class  may  be  referred  for  certain  chapters. 

V.  THE  TEACHER. 

I.  The  teacher  of  psychology,  as  compared  with  the 
teachers  of  other  college  subjects,  needs  an  exceptionally 
thorough  preparation. 

The  subject  is  usually  taken  up  comparatively  late.  It  is  so  large  and 
its  interrelations  are  so  complicated  that  it  takes  a  long  time  to  acquire 


GENERAL  REPORT 


91 


that  knowledge  about  mental  facts,  that  ability  in  introspection,  and 
that  technique  in  experimentation  which  is  essential  to  the  effective 
teacher. 

Comparatively  few,  even  of  those  who  have  completed  three  years  of 
specialized  graduate  study  in  psychology,  are  successful  with  the  elemen¬ 
tary  class  in  psychology  when  they  begin.  The  elementary  class  seems 
to  demand  a  certain  amount  of  apprenticeship.  Institutions  can  well 
afford  to  pay  for  the  years  of  experience  of  a  well  trained  psychologist. 

2.  Psychology  is  perhaps  unequalled  by  other  college 
subjects  in  its  power  to  influence  the  life  of  the  student; 
the  introduction  to  this  subject  should,  therefore,  be  taught 
by  mature  members  of  the  department. 

Young  instructors  can  handle  advanced  work  better  than  the 
elementary. 

3.  Pyschology  perhaps  suggests  more  unsolved  problems 
than  any  other  science;  there  is,  therefore,  a  special  demand 
upon  practical  ingenuity  and  philosophical  insight. 

4.  “The  teacher  is  everything.” 

In  this  there  is  a  great  truth.  As  we  have  learned  to  respect  the  indi¬ 
viduality  of  the  pupil,  we  must  learn  to  regard  the  individuality  of  the 
teacher. 

Aids,  in  the  form  of  equipment,  favorable  support  from  the  institution, 
knowledge  about  methods,  etc.,  are  always  of  minor  importance 

VI.  SPECIAL  RECOMMENDATIONS. 

For  furthering  the  advancement  of  the  teaching  of  elemen¬ 
tary  psychology,  the  committee  respectfully  recommends  the 
following: 

(a)  Conferences  of  teachers  with  a  common  interest;  e.g.,  state  con¬ 
ferences  of  teachers  of  psychology;  east,  south,  central,  and  west  con¬ 
ferences  on  a  larger  scale;  conferences  of  teachers  of  psychology  in  the 
normal  schools;  conferences  of  the  teachers  of  educational  psychology 
etc.  Several  such  organizations  exist. 

ib)  The  appointment  of  a  committee  on  the  “Class  Experiment.” 
(See  II.  C,  3,  b,  above.) 

(c)  The  appointment  of  a  committee  on  elementary  experiments 
without  laboratory  apparatus.  (See  II.  C,  3,  a,  above.) 


NOTES  ON  THE  DISCUSSION  WHICH  FOLLOWED 
THE  PRESENTATION  OF  THE  REPORT. 

By  Helen  D.  Cook. 

Wellesley  College. 


In  the  discussion  which  followed,  Professor  Pillsbury  held 
that  the  chief  aim  of  the  course  should  be  not  so  much  to 
teach  the  student  to  psychologize  as  to  teach  him  a  body  of 
facts.  (And  Professor  Seashore  rejoined  that  without  learn¬ 
ing  to  psychologize  the  student  could  never  know  the  psychic 
fact.)  Professor  Pillsbury  dwelt  also  on  the  necessity  of  a 
physiological  basis  for  psychology.  Professor  Kirkpatrick 
added  that  psychology  should  be  a  study  not  of  consciousness 
but  of  behavior. 

Professor  Thorndike  reinforced  the  Committee’s  emphasis 
on  the  necessity  of  assigning  to  the  student  questions  for 
preliminary  study  and  concrete  problems  for  solution,  as 
means  by  which  to  avoid  a  psychology  “which  uses  words 
which  nobody  knows  in  order  to  state  facts  which  everybody 
knows.  ” 

Professor  Warren  was  unequivocally  of  the  opinion  that 
psychology  is  not  advantageously  studied  before  the  junior 
year,  whereas  Professor  Witmer  recommended  the  teaching 
of  psychology  even  to  freshmen  and  to  high  school  classes. 
Professor  Witmer  strongly  urged,  also,  a  course  extending 
over  at  least  two  years. 

With  reference  to  normal  school  psychology.  Professor 
Monroe  emphasized  the  importance  in  educational  psychol¬ 
ogy  of  biological  material,  urged  the  value  of  teachers’  con¬ 
ferences;  and  claimed  that  it  is  too  early  to  attempt  to  stand¬ 
ardize  the  normal  school  course.  Dr.  Rowe  set  forth  the 
difficulty  of  combining  in  one  course  the  study  of  psychology 


NOTES  ON  DISCUSSION 


93 


with  that  of  education.  (Professor  Seashore  held  that  the 
psychology  in  such  a  course  should  be  taught  from  the  point 
of  view  of  education.) 

On  the  whole,  all  who  took  part  in  the  discussion  expressed 
a  very  hearty  approval  of  the  report. 


BF21.P96  V.12 

A  study  of  sensory  control  in  the  rat, 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


00008  4774 


